


The Deepest of Ties

by Elri (angelrider13)



Series: Soulmates [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Ace is a Demon, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angel!Luffy, Because of Reasons, Continuation of Pure and Tainted, Demon!Ace, Gen, I Made Another Thing, LITERALLY, Luffy is an Angel, M/M, Tags to be added, cause I forget stuff, eventually, in the form of various oneshots, soulmates!verse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-02
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-02-03 02:41:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1728095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelrider13/pseuds/Elri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They are everything. They are friends, brothers, lovers, soulmates. They are exact opposites. They are the same being divided in two. They are love and hate, pure and tainted. They are everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Halo

**Author's Note:**

> So this is basically a series of oneshots that are a result of my leftover ideas of this verse and people asking for more Angel Lu and Demon Ace. Not every chapter will focus solely on AceLu, and there might be chapters where neither Ace nor Luffy are in them. That being said, a lot of the chapters will usually have at least one of them in it.
> 
> Anywho~
> 
> This chapter is based in a slight au where the strawhat crew hasn't seen Luffy's Angel form before. So the don't really know anything about it.
> 
> Please enjoy!

_The Straw Hats learn the hard way why you should never, **ever** remove an Angel’s halo._

* * *

Nami walks up onto the deck stretching and covering a yawn. She’s always one of the first up, Sanji being the first so that he can have breakfast ready by the time everyone manages to drag themselves out of bed. The navigator can hear the sounds of said meal being prepared and gets read to make her way to the library to get some work done before it’s time to eat.

She stops however, when she sees her captain standing by the rail.

Luffy is _never_ up this early. Ever.

Curious, she changes direction and heads for the rubber pirate. As she gets closer, she notices that his precious straw hat is dangling from his neck and in its usual place on his head is a golden circlet. Her brows furrow in disapproval; Luffy knows he’s not allowed in the treasure room.

"Luffy," she says pleasantly through clenched teeth when she reaches her captain.

Luffy turns at her voice and Nami pauses for a moment when she catches a glimpse of his half-lidded, sleepy, _silver_ eyes. She brushes it off as a trick of the light.

"Did you get that crown out of the treasure room?" she asks sweetly.

Luffy blinks at her, a slow, drawn out movement, before his normal, blinding grin splits his face. “Yeah!” he says excitedly, like she’s just promised him a treasure map to a chest full of meat.

Nami gives an exasperated sigh. “You know you’re not supposed to go in there,” she scolds, still not quite awake enough for a full-blown explosion. Maybe right before breakfast. She reaches up and slips the gold circlet off Luffy’s head. “Now I’m going to take this back and because I have to go through the log books to find out exactly what you’ve taken, I’m adding 50,000 beli to your debt.”

She is so caught up in her rant, that she doesn’t notice the way Luffy’s silver eyes go wide. Doesn’t notice that as soon as the gold band leaves his head, they go dull and lifeless. Doesn’t notice the momentary spark of panic and fear before it’s locked under a dead mask.

And by the time she walks away, gold in hand, it’s already too late.

* * *

Luffy is having the best dream _ever_.

At least he’s pretty sure it’s a dream. Because Sanji is _never_ this nice.

But he can figure all of that out later.

The blond chef is making him anything he wants. Which is obviously meat. There’s so much of it he can’t reach the top of the pile even with his rubber arms, so he uses his wings instead. And when reaches the top, he decides this is the best meat mountain _ever_.

"Hey, Luffy!" Sanji calls from somewhere below, "You want some more meat?"

"Yeah!" Luffy calls back with a grin.

He’s in heaven; he has meat and he’s flying higher than everything else in the world. It’s perfect.

Suddenly, he chokes and there’s a stabbing pain in his chest, like a sword was just thrust through his heart. The air rushes from his lungs and then he’s falling, wings crumbling to ashes. He hits the ground hard. His eyelids feel heavy and it’s hard to keep them open; he can’t move, can’t feel his arms or legs. His wings are gone and panic starts to build in his chest when a dark, shadowy blackness starts to cover up the light of his world. He wants to get up, fight it back, but his body isn’t listening to him and he’s just so _tired_. Black tendrils wrap around his body, locking him in a numb embrace, choking him. He wants to struggle and fight but he’s suddenly become nothing but a lifeless doll.

The shadows close in around him, cutting off the last of his light.

And as his eyes finally slide shut, he calls out.

“ _Ace…”_

* * *

Ace scowls as he eats his breakfast, listening to Vista and Haruta taking bets as to when he’ll fall asleep in his breakfast. He does not do that every meal, thank you very much. And when he is kind enough to inform the two of them of such a fact, they just laugh.

"Right," Haruta chuckles, "And you aren’t the Demon."

Ace rolls his eyes. The constant teasing and joking about what he is has actually made it easier for him to accept and come to terms with it. That doesn’t mean it’s not annoying. Just as he opens him mouth to make a sharp retort, all the air rushes from his lungs and a sharp pain explodes in his stomach, like he’s just been punched in the gut. He drops the food in his hand, eyes going hazy and distant, like he’s seeing something that isn’t there. There is a sudden sinking in his stomach and a growing feeling of _dread_.

Vista and Haruta frown, exchanging looks at Ace’s sudden change. Before either of them can ask what’s wrong, however, Ace’s eyes go wide and he turns, throwing up everything he’s just eaten onto the floor. Ace is aware of Vista crying out in surprise and Haruta jumping over the table to rub his back and ask him what’s wrong, but it’s muffled, like he’s underwater.

He can only think that something is wrong.

Something has gone horribly, horribly wrong.

“ _Ace…”_

_Luffy._

As soon as Ace finishes emptying his stomach, he’s up and out of the mess hall, ignoring the glass of water Vista offers him, and heading straight for the Captain’s quarters.

He needs to talk to Marco _now_.

He slams open the door, cutting off the Phoenix mid-word as he and Izo both turn to look at him. Seeing how disheveled and out of breath he is, Marco is immediately on his feet.

"What’s wrong?" he asks.

"I need to leave," Ace says quickly, the words rushing out. Marco and Izo stare at him in confusion. "It’s Luffy."

He receives a raised eyebrow in response to that. Before the Demon can explain, Haruta rushes in and latches onto his arm.

"Ace, why’d you run off?" she questions, anger and worry both underlying her tone, "You left Vista to clean up your mess and you didn’t even go to the infirmary!"

"I’m fine," Ace growls, he doesn’t have _time_ for this. “I need to leave Marco.”

Marco levels him with a look. “Why?”

"Something’s happened to Luffy."

"Why does Haruta think you should be in the infirmary?"

Ace doesn’t reply.

"He tossed his breakfast five minutes ago," Haruta answers for him, looking up at him disapprovingly.

Marco sighs. “Ace – “

"I’m not _asking_ permission,” Ace interrupts, eyes narrowing, face challenging, “I am _telling_ you that I am going. I thought I’d be nice instead of just disappearing. You won’t stop me from leaving.”

Silence reigns in the room as both Izo and Haruta look a little shocked at Ace’s outburst. They’ve never heard him talk that way before, not to Marco. Marco just searches his eyes before finally sighing.

"Haruta, take him to the infirmary and get him cleaned up," he orders, waving a hand, he continues before Ace can form an angry protest, "Izo, have someone get Ace some supplies together and then head to navigation. See if we’ve got any leads on Straw Hat." Marco opens one of his desk drawers and tosses Ace a baby den-den mushi. "Try to keep in contact."

Ace nods, a shaky, relieved smile forming on his face, and lets Haruta drag him to the infirmary. The knowledge that he’s been given the okay to go and that his crew is helping him does nothing to quell the growing knot of worry in his chest or diminish the sense of _wrong_ in his heart.

So as soon as everything is ready, Ace jumps into his Striker and heads off to find his brother without even a goodbye to his nakama.

Something bad has happened.

Something completely, utterly, and hopelessly awful.

And it’s happened to Luffy.

To his Angel.

He can feel it in his bones, his heart, his skin, his _being_.

He just hopes he’s not too late.

* * *

The Straw Hats know something is wrong when everyone is sitting down for breakfast.

And Luffy isn’t there.

Sanji had called them in for their morning meal and there was an unnatural silence that rang out on the ship. There were no whoops of joy, no yells of excitement, no cries for meat. Not even the sound of stampeding feet. Nothing.

So when they’re all sitting at the table and there is still no sign of their captain something has to be wrong. Everyone turns to Robin, who crosses her arms over her chest and closes her eyes. Seconds later, they’re open again and the archeologist lets loose a light chuckle.

"It seems Captain-san has fallen asleep on the lawn," she says.

The crew, almost simultaneously, rolls their eyes. Nami kicks Zoro out to go get him, which he does, grumbling all the while, so the rest of them can start eating.

The swordsman finds his captain sprawled out face down on the lawn.

"Oi, Luffy," he calls as he approaches, "If you don’t hurry up, we’re going to eat everything without you."

Luffy doesn’t even twitch.

Zoro frowns and places a hand on the rubber teen’s shoulder, giving it a rough shake. “Luffy? Time to wake up.”

Nothing.

That’s when Zoro starts to notice that everything is out of place. Luffy never sleeps face down, always on his back or side. He also snores, or at least breathes, loudly. Zoro can’t hear anything. Quickly, he rolls Luffy over onto his back. His captain is pale, his breath coming in short, shallow, wheezing gasps. The first mate presses two fingers to Luffy’s neck and has to fight not to jerk away because Luffy is _cold_.

Too cold.

Humans should never be that cold.

A chill runs down Zoro’s spine when he feels just how faint and weak Luffy’s pulse is.

He does the only thing he can.

"CHOPPER!"

* * *

Back in the galley, breakfast has moved on without the captain and first mate. It’s quieter than normal, but still enjoyable. It’s peaceful for once.

But then the peace is shattered.

"CHOPPER!"

Everyone freezes.

That was Zoro.

Zoro never calls for Chopper. Not like that. Not in that voice so full of _panic_ and _fear_.

The entire crew bolts to the deck, breakfast forgotten, to find Zoro kneeling over the prone form of their captain. Chopper is next to them instantly, asking Zoro what happened, checking Luffy’s pulse, his eyes, his temperature.

The crew is silent.

This has never happened before.

Luffy _never_ gets sick.

The only time he’s ever been exhausted enough to collapse is after a huge battle.

They haven’t fought anyone in weeks.

Chopper orders Luffy moved to the infirmary, muttering under his breath about weak heartbeats and falling blood pressure. Zoro scoops up his captain and everyone is floored by how frail he looks. Luffy has never looked so breakable, so fragile, so _tiny_ in Zoro’s arms.

Not even after Water 7 or Thriller Bark.

An icy shard of fear lodges itself in their hearts.

But if anyone can fix him, Chopper can.

Chopper exits the infirmary, quietly closing the door behind him, before turning to the crew.

Zoro is the one who breaks the silence, blunt as always. “What’s wrong with him?”

Chopper shakes his head. “I…don’t know,” he whispers. It sounds painful for those words to leave his mouth.

"But…you can heal him, right?" Usopp asks.

"I don’t know."

The atmosphere in the room is heavy, silent, tense, _unnatural_.

This isn’t how Luffy’s ship is supposed to feel.

"What do you know?" Robin asks, her voice toneless and face blank. But her nakama can see the slight press of her lips and the tightness around her eyes.

Chopper sighs. He looks tired. And older. “It’s like…it’s like his body is shutting down,” he says slowly, trying to find the right words, “His heart is slowing down, which is causing his blood pressure to fall. He also seems to have trouble breathing and he is no longer able to regulate his own body temperature,” Chopper pauses, and unsure look on his face, “I don’t understand though; he doesn’t have any symptoms. His body is perfectly healthy. It’s just…not working.”

Silence.

Then Zoro draws himself up.

He’s Luffy’s first mate. If Luffy can’t command the crew, he will.

"Nami, how long until we reach the next island?" he asks.

Nami, jerks, startled by the question. “A…few days,” she says, “Five at the most, three if we push it and the wind is on our side.”

"Aim for three," Zoro says.

Nami doesn’t argue.

Sanji doesn’t yell at him for ordering her around.

No one makes a sound.

Zoro resists the urge to sigh. He wishes Sanji would yell at him, Nami would add to his debt. It would mean everything was normal. But it’s not.

Wordlessly, he enters the infirmary.

Luffy is in the bed, buried under numerous blankets in an attempt to keep him warm. His face is pale and calm, but he’s so damn _still_ that Zoro just wants to march over to the bed, grab him and shake him roughly and yell at him to _wake the hell up damnit_. But he doesn’t.

Instead, he sits in the chair by the bed, arms crossed over his chest. If he believed in God, he supposes this is the part where he prays. But he doesn’t believe in God and he doesn’t really know how to pray, so instead he takes Wado from its place on his hip and lays it on the bed next to his captain.

For now, it’s the best he can do.

* * *

Two days.

That’s how long it takes Ace to find Luffy’s ship.

By now, he’s grown frantic and a little desperate. The sinking in his gut, the hole in his heart, the _wrongness_ in the air is getting worse. And it scares him. He wonders if anyone else can feel it, feel the stillness, the quiet. It’s like the world has stopped moving. The calm before the storm. For Ace it’s the like the moment before the world comes tumbling down.

Ace barely has enough focus left to secure his Striker to the Thousand Sunny, before jumping on deck.

Luffy’s ship is quiet.

Ace didn’t think that was possible.

The crew looks surprised by his arrival.

"Ace?" Usopp asks, "What’re you doing here?"

Ace ignores him, eyes searching the deck. He doesn’t see what he came here for. The Demon zeros in on the first mate, who’s watching him with a knowing eye.

"Where is he?" Ace demands.

Nobody has to ask who he means. Zoro is the only one who doesn’t look away from him. Wordlessly, he turns and walks into the bowels of Sunny, Ace following so closely, he’s almost on top of the swordsman. When they reach the infirmary, Ace rushes past Zoro. He ignores Chopper, who is sitting at the desk with various medical texts open and another pile on the floor waiting to be searched through. He goes straight for Luffy.

What he sees makes his heart freeze in his chest.

Luffy is pale. So so so pale. His normally, tan, sea-worn skin is a translucent ivory, dark blue veins easily visible. It makes a slightly morbid picture, the blue lines tracing over his face and neck. His Angel – bright, vibrant, happy, alive – is still. So still. Luffy is never still. Except now he is. His normally smiling face is blank, relaxed and calm, but _empty_. His lips are tinted with gray, slightly parted to take silent, shallow breaths.

What scares Ace the most is Luffy’s glow.

Even in the chaos and carnage that was Marineford, Luffy’s glow remained strong and constant. But now. Now it’s just a dim flicker, like a candle that’s just about reached the end of its wick and is about to go out. The light that has always lived under Luffy’s skin, never flickering or faltering, is about to go out.

Ace thinks he might cry.

He doesn’t know if the others can tell. But.

Luffy is dying.

His brother.

His soulmate.

His Angel.

His Light.

Dying.

His knees go weak and he has to force himself to sit down on the edge of the bed _slowly_ so he doesn’t cause Luffy anymore pain than he’s already in.

"What happened?" he finally manages to choke out.

"We found him collapsed on deck two days ago," Zoro says tonelessly.

If Ace didn’t know any better, he’d say the swordsman didn’t care. But he can see the lines of tension, the bags under his eyes. Ace tears his eyes from the first mate and looks back to his fading brother.

"What’s wrong with him?" he asks.

Chopper shifted, biting his lip and turning away from his books to face the Demon. “Honestly, I have no idea,” he says and his voice is so full of _pain_ over that single face that Ace flinches. “Ever since he collapsed his heart’s been getting…not weaker, but it’s like his brain has stopped telling it to beat often as it should.”

Ace narrows his eyes. “What do you mean?”

"As hard as it is to believe with his current appearance, Luffy is still in excellent physical health. His body has just…stopped working."

Ace frowns, peering down at his brother. He reaches out a hand, brushing fingers along a pale cheek. Ace only has time to register that it is _too cold_ , before Luffy’s eyes fly open and he inhales sharply.

Zoro and Chopper are immediately at the bed with him, holding their captain down, while Ace holds his Angel’s face between his hands. Luffy’s eyes are a washed out gray and going white, a pale imitation of their once shining silver. He sees the recognition flash in them and then Luffy’s mouth is moving and he’s choking on air.

"Ace…"

"Shhh, Luffy. Shhhh, I’m here," soothes Ace, sweeping his thumbs over the young captain’s cheeks.

"Ace…"

Luffy’s eyes are drooping again and Ace can tell he’s fighting to stay awake even though he can see how much it hurts the Angel just to breathe his name. His throat tightens and his eyes burn.

"It’s okay," he finds himself saying, "Everything is okay. You’ll be fine."

"Ace."

He looks up at that. The finality in Luffy’s voice, in the way he says his name. Luffy knows. Knows that he’s dying. Knows that there is nothing any of them can do. A choked sob forces itself free and he presses his forehead to his little brother’s.

"Please don’t leave me," he begs, voice shaking, broken.

If Luffy leaves, he’ll be alone again. Back in that dark solitude before Sabo and Luffy and their brotherhood. Before he knew what happiness felt like, before he knew how freedom tasted.

"Love you."

And then Lufy’s pale eyes are glassy and blank and dead and Ace knows those eyes will haunt his dreams even as veiny, grayish lids slide shut over them. Luffy is still again. Back to that unnatural stillness and that _damn silence_ again and Ace wants to scream. He feels Zoro and Chopper shift off the bed, hears Chopper babble hopefully about how this is the first time Luffy has regained consciousness and that it might be a good sign.

Ace takes a deep, shuddering breath and forces himself to pull his hands away from Luffy’s cold face.

"Chopper," he says softly, the misery and pain in his voice a tangible thing.

The little doctor looks up at him. “Don’t worry, Ace. I’ll take care of Luffy.”

He shakes his head a rueful smile on his lips. “I know you will,” he says, and then he looks at Zoro and sees that the swordsman has guessed, but doesn’t want to believe. Still he doesn’t want to say it out loud, to crush the young doctor’s hope or shatter the first mate’s will. “Just…make him as comfortable as you can.”

Chopper nods and Ace leaves the infirmary as fast as he can. He almost runs to the darkest corner of the ship, curling in on himself and sobbing when he finally reaches it, Luffy’s love echoing in his head.

* * *

The ship has been docked at an island for the past day.

Chopper his been doing everything he can, checking books, trying every medicine he can think of, to try and get Luffy back on his feet. Nothing’s working.

Ace hasn’t left Luffy’s side since his break down. If Luffy is going to leave him, he’s going to spend every possible moment with him, no matter how painful it is. Eventually, though, Chopper forces him out of the infirmary and tells him he needs to eat something. He doesn’t need to unhealthy charges. Reluctantly, he obeys, his stomach echoing his agreement. He hasn’t eaten properly in days. So he heads to the galley. As he approaches, he hears voices inside, but pays them no mind as he steps closer.

Nami sighs in frustration, running a hands through her hair, glaring at the log book she has open on the table, the golden circlet she had taken from Luffy five days ago sitting on the table next to it.

"Something wrong, Nami-san?" Sanji asks from where he’s washing dishes. The cook has been less flirtatious these last few days, but he is still very polite and sweet to his Nami-san and Robin-chan.

Nami sighs again. “It’s this crown,” she says, tapping it lightly with the tip of her finger, “Luffy said he got it from the treasure room, but I can’t find any record of it. And there’s no way Luffy could have managed to hide it.”

Sanji glances over at the piece sitting on the table, a thoughtful frown on his face. “I don’t recall seeing it before,” he says.

"I know," Nami replies, leaning back in her chair, "But it’s not like I can ask Luffy. He’s…" she trails off, unwilling and unable to finish her thought.

Before the silence in the room can become too uncomfortable, Ace swings the door open and steps in.

"Hey, Sanji, can you –"

The Demon cuts off when his eyes fall on the golden circlet resting on the table. His world freezes, grinds to a complete halt. _That shouldn’t be there._ Why is it there? It doesn’t belong. Agonizingly slowly, unaware of the strange looks he’s getting from his brother’s cook and navigator, he takes a few halting steps forward as the conversation he just barely heard replays itself in his head.

Suddenly, Ace’s body _moves_. Nami doesn’t even have time to scream before Ace’s hand is around her throat, lifting her off the ground and slamming her back into the closest wall.

"YOU FOOL!" Ace roars. Nami’s hands fly to the man’s wrist, trying tug the hand away from her neck, as her eyes widen in surprises and fear. She has never seen someone this _angry_ before. Fury is rolling off Ace’s already changed body, glowing crimson orbs bore into hers and she sees tendrils of black begin to lick at the edges of his eyes. Ace doesn’t look away from her and doesn’t listen to the enraged words spilling from Sanji’s mouth when he raises his free arm and slams it into the cook’s gut, sending him flying into the opposite wall. “DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’VE DONE? WHAT YOU’VE TAMPERED WITH?” Dimly, Ace is aware that his hand is tightening around Nami’s neck, aware that she’s clawing desperately at his wrist as she tries to breathe, aware that if he doesn’t stop soon he will kill her. But she has done something unforgivable and he can’t shake his complete and absolute rage long enough to regain his crumbling control. “HE’S DYING! YOUR DOCTOR CAN’T FIX HIM! NO ONE CAN! HE’S IN THAT BED BECAUSE OF YOU! I’M LOSING HIM BECAUSE YOU’RE KILLING HIM!”

Ace’s senses are suddenly snapped back into place when he feels the cold steel of a blade against his throat. He turns to glare at Zoro, no less angry, but finally in control again.

"Let her go," he says.

Ace sneers, tail wrapping around Zoro’s arm and wrenching the blade from his neck. Still, he releases Nami and she falls gracelessly to the floor, gasping and clutching at her throat. The Demon stares down at her coldly while he lets his wings slide back under his skin, the glowing crimson remaining in his eyes as the rest of his transformation fades.

He’s now aware of the crew (minus Chopper), gathered in the galley, all in fighting stances and regarding him warily. He ignores them. Instead, he turns back to the table and carefully picks up the golden circlet, holding it as if it’s made of glass. He sees the faint glow that surrounds it, that weak, flickering light that’s about to go out.

"You better hope he lives," Ace says, looking directly at Nami over his shoulder, glowing eyes still radiating fury, voice cold and deadly, "Luffy’s nakama or not, I may not be inclined to forgive you this."

And with that, he’s out the door, brushing past the confused and nervous crew and heading straight for the infirmary. He meets Chopper at the door.

"Ace?" he asks, worry lining his features, "What’s wrong? I heard yelling."

"Nothing," Ace says shortly, and makes a move to enter the infirmary only to be blocked by the little doctor. "Move, Chopper. I need to see Luffy."

Chopper shakes his head. “You haven’t been gone long enough to eat anything. Besides, you’re angry.”

"I’m fine," Ace snaps, control already fraying. _He doesn’t have time for this_.

"No you’re not. I’m not letting you see Luffy like this."

That is the wrong thing to say.

"YOU’LL LET ME SEE HIM OR I’LL BURN THIS WHOLE DAMN SHIP DOWN!"

* * *

As soon as Ace stormed out of the room, Zoro kneels down by Nami. Robin rushes over to them while Brook and Usopp pull Sanji to his feet. Sanji waves them off and insists that Nami is in more need of the attention than he is.

Nami’s breathing is still a little ragged and Zoro can see the angry red mark on her neck that he knows will be a bruise later.

"What happened?" Zoro asks.

Nami just shakes her head while Sanji growls in frustration. “We don’t know,” he says, “We were just talking; Nami-san was doing some accounting, trying to figure out where Luffy got that crown and then Ace walks in and next thing we know he’s gone berserk.”

He’s on edge, they all are. Luffy’s condition is taking its toll on all of them. But this behavior is still unlike Ace. Ace has never even once expressed anger toward any of them. This sudden change is completely unexpected.

"He said it was my fault," Nami croaked with a cough, "He said Luffy’s condition was my fault."

"That’s not possible, Nami-san," Sanji says reassuringly, "Ace is just upset is all. We all are –"

Anything else he would have said is cut off by Ace’s enraged voice echoing over the ship.

"YOU’LL LET ME SEE HIM OR I’LL BURN THIS WHOLE DAMN SHIP DOWN!"

 _That_ has the entire crew running to the infirmary, worried for both Chopper and Luffy’s safety. What they find is Chopper in heavy point, standing in front of the door a determined frown on his face, Ace standing opposite him, crimson eyes narrowed, one fist raise and on fire ready to strike.

Zoro quickly steps forward. “Enough you two,” he says firmly. Ace whirls on him, eyes wild and frantic. “Ace, you need to calm down.” The swordsman says it as softly and soothingly as he can manage.

Ace blinks at him, the fire in his hand and across his shoulders flickering out. He glances down at the gold band in his hand, closes his eyes and takes a deep shuddering breath. When he opens them again, his eyes are back to brown, anger and rage replaced with fear and pain.

He doesn’t say anything, just looks at Chopper and the young doctor is so shocked by what her sees in those eyes, he shrinks back to brain point and stumbles out of the Demon’s way.

Ace wastes no time; he’s through the door and hovering over Luffy’s bed before any of them can blink. The crew watches as he carefully slips the circlet in his hands over Luffy’s head. The reaction is instant. Luffy suddenly inhales, the movement so powerful that his body arches off the bed, freeing itself of the numerous blankets. His hands come up and start clawing at his throat, only for Ace to grab is wrists. Luffy struggles, eyes half-open now as he chokes on air, trying to break free, to move, to breath, to do _some_ _thing_. Ace pulls him into his arms as he thrashes wildly, preventing him from hurting himself.

"Shhhhh, Luffy, shhhhh. Everything’s okay, everything’s fine," Ace soothes, "Just breathe. Everything will be fine. Breathe. You won’t run out of air. Okay? In, out, in, out. There you go. It’s alright. You’re okay. You’re okay, Luffy. Shhhhhh, you’ll be fine."

Slowly, Luffy’s struggles calm until he rests limply in his brother’s arms, his breathing finally, _finally_ , normal. And for the first time in days, Luffy is asleep, not unconscious, but actually a peaceful, natural sleep. Ace holds him for a little longer, breathing in his scent, taking in his slowly warming body, his steadily brightening glow, the fact that he’s _still here_. Then he gently lowers his little brother down onto the bed, pulling some of the blankets back over him and smoothing a hand over his dark hair. The gold band gleams brightly from its place on his head.

He takes as deep, steadying breath and leans back against the wall at the head of the bed, his thigh resting by Luffy’s head, and buries his face in one of his hands, his shoulders trembling with relief. His other hand stays tangled in Luffy’s hair as an anchor of sorts and he watches through his fingers as shining gold melts into hair and skin.

Franky is the one who finally breaks the silence.

"What just happened?"

Ace lets his hand slide down his face until it rests over his mouth, his eyes taking in the Straw Hats. He tries to push back the burning anger because it isn’t all their fault, but it’s heard because Luffy almost _died_. Since he doesn’t let himself feel the anger and he’s so drunk on relief, he’s mostly just tired. So tired. But he sees their confusion, knows they have been just as terrified as he has these last few days, so he sighs, lowering his hand from his mouth.

"You’ve never seen Luffy in his Angel form, have you?" he asks softly.

Usopp blinks. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Nami, however, has her eyes locked on Luffy’s head where the gold band disappeared, a look of disbelief on her face.

"Everything," Ace says, looking directly at the navigator. She gulps at the weight of the stare, but Sanji gets between her and Ace and the weight lessens. "Do you know anything about us?" he asks, voice still soft and calm and tired, but serious.

"That there is only one Angel and one Demon at a time," Robin says, "That the two have a long history of bloody conflicts."

Ace snorts at that, an amused smile briefly making its way to his face. “Those are the stories everyone seems to know,” he muses, “Can’t do anything but fight with each other. What a load of crap.” He sighs and shakes his head. “The Angel and the Demon are very different, but in reality, are almost exactly the same,” he explains, “One thing in particular we share is that we each have one glaring weakness.” Ace pauses, looking down at his hand. “For me, it’s emotion. Rage, anger, hatred. It’s easy for me to lose myself in it; to lose control.” He looks down at Luffy’s sleeping face. “When that happens, I stop being me. I become something else. I become a creature of rage hell bent on killing anything in my way.” He doesn’t want to look at Luffy’s crew as he says this, but they need to know, so he makes himself look up. “I’ve only ever lost control twice and I promised myself I would never lose control again.” He chuckles bitterly, eyes lingering on the bruise forming on Nami’s neck. “Some promise,” he says, ruefully shaking his head, “I almost broke it today.”

As if sensing his brother’s distress, Luffy turns his head so that his cheek is resting on Ace’s thigh, a hand comes up and latches onto his shorts. Surprised, Ace blinks down at him before chuckling softly. “He’ll be mad at me when he wakes up,” Ace says, turning back to Nami, that same sad, bitter smile on his lips, “I’m sorry.”

Nami shakes her head, floored by the emotion and conflict on the fire user’s face. “It’s fine,” she manages to choke out, her throat still sore, “I’m sure you had a reason.”

Ace’s smile changes then, filled with restrained anger and fear. It startles the crew.

"What about the Angel’s weakness, Ace-san?" Brook prompts gently.

Ace takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. “His halo.”

"His…halo?" Sanji repeats slowly, unsure, but tone holding an underlying realization.

"What do you mean, Ace?" Chopper asks.

"Aside from the obvious white wings, the Angel also has silver eyes and a gold halo," the Demon says, looking directly at Nami, whose eyes are slowly widening, "If that halo is ever removed, the Angel falls into a coma and inevitably dies."

Ace’s face and tone are blank as he says it, revealing nothing of his personal feelings after he delivers the cold fact. The crew seems to be in various levels of shock. Nami’s hands fly to her mouth and she falls to her knees. Her eyes are wide and she’s shaking.

"You mean," she chokes out, shocked beyond anything, "that I…"

Ace nods, eyes revealing nothing. “Almost killed Luffy? Yes.”

He’s blunt and he knows it’s cruel of him, but the Straw Hats need to understand the what they almost did.

"His wings don’t have to be out," Ace explains, "Sometimes just our eyes change; other times it’s my tail or his halo. We don’t always have to fully transform, there are in-betweens. The one constant are the eyes. Mine turn crimson, Luffy’s turn silver."

"Silver," Nami mutters. She looks numb, "His eyes were silver that morning."

Ace’s face finally showed a sliver off compassion. “Chopper, you should look at her and Sanji. I was a little rough on them earlier.”

Sanji waves them off. “I’m fine. Nami-san needs attention more than I do.”

Nami looks like she’s in shock, she’s staring at nothing. She almost killed Luffy. _Luffy_. Her captain. Her liberator.

"Nami."

Ace’s voice cuts through her thoughts. The looks he’s giving her is hard. “Stop. That’s not helping anyone. Luffy is still alive. I’m not blaming you. And I know for a fact that even if he had died, Luffy won’t blame you. So knock it off. The only reason I’m telling you any of this is so _it doesn’t happen again_. Are we clear?”

Nami gives a shaky nod and lets Chopper examine her. Ace sighs, knowing that she won’t really be better until Luffy speaks to her, but for now it will have to do. He’s too tired, his earlier adrenaline rush fading and leaving him exhausted. He lets his head fall back against the wall and next thing he knows, he’s asleep.

* * *

Luffy wakes a day later.

His skin has regained his color and his body is warm again and he’s smiling and Ace feels the weight on his chest lift. The Angel doesn’t really remember what happened and of course the first thought he has when he wakes is food. He’s been asleep for a little over six days after all and that’s thirty meals.

So Luffy bounds off to the galley, where Sanji is conveniently enough finishing making lunch, dragging Ace behind him. He barges into the room with his usual grin and declarations for meat, sitting in his seat and practically bouncing in excitement. It takes him a while, but eventually, he notices the relieved stares he’s receiving.

"Huh? What’s with you guys?" he asks, tilting his head to the side.

"It’s nothing, Captain-san," Robin answers, a calm smile on her face, "We are just happy to see you awake."

Luffy blinks then grins. “Me too!” he exclaims.

Sanji then places the meal on the table, more food than usual because he knows Luffy will want to make up for all of the meals he’s missed. The young captain reaches for the food, but, to everyone’s surprise, his hand freezes just short of it before it’s pulled back. His eyes are on Nami. On the large, dark purple, hand-shaped bruise on her neck.

"Nami," he says, and he’s wearing his serious face and using _that_ voice and the room freezes, everyone suddenly at attention, “Who did that to your neck?”

Nami’s hand goes to her throat, it still hurts, but she doesn’t blame Ace for what happened, not really. She presses her lips together, not wanting to rat out the fire user when it really isn’t his fault.

"I did."

But apparently, Ace has no problem ratting himself out. The room holds its breath as Luffy turns serious eyes to his brother.

"I came to close to losing control. I’m sorry."

Luffy studies his brother, eyes serious, expression blank. Ace looks back with an expression that’s just as empty.

"Why?" Luffy asks. He knows Ace would never harm Nami, not without reason.

"Because she took off your halo," Ace says bluntly. Nami flinches in her seat.

Luffy just blinks. “Huh?”

Ace sighs. “You almost died, Luffy. I keep telling you to be more careful! It’s not even Nami’s fault! You should have explained things to your crew. You didn’t even stop her from taking your halo off in the first place when you _know_ exactly what would happen!”

Luffy’s expression just goes more and more confused while the crew is stunned. Ace is putting a majority of the blame for what happened on _Luffy_.

The Angel just cocks his head to the side. “What are you talking about? I was just flying and eating meat and then there were these shadows that wouldn’t let go of me, so I had to take a nap for a while.”

Silence.

Then Ace groans, throwing a hand over his face. “Son of a – you were sleep walking again weren’t you?” the older accuses, “You were wandering around your ship asleep and half transformed and you probably said something stupid that made Nami think it was okay to take your halo off! Goddamnit! Now I feel even worse because it really was all your fault!”

"Ah," Nami speaks up, voice soft, "It really isn’t your fault Ace, I did something without thinking of the possible repric –"

"So you’re telling me Luffy didn’t say _anything_ that made it seem like it was okay to remove his halo?” Ace deadpans, not believing a word of it.

"W-well, he did say he took it out of the treasure room," Nami confesses, unable to hold up under the weight of Ace’s stare.

Ace groans and lets his head fall back while Luffy just giggle. “Shishishishishi! You’re silly, Ace! Nami didn’t do anything wrong and I’m fine!”

Ace just sighs. “You’re going to kill me one of these days, Luffy. You’re going to do something stupid that gets you in trouble and I’ll die of a heart attack before I even make it to twenty-five.”

And suddenly, Luffy is in his lap, straddling his hips and holding his face between his hands. “No you won’t,” he says seriously, “You won’t die. I won’t let you. Tell me how to stop scaring you.”

Ace stares at Luffy, eye wide, shaken by the seriousness in his brother’s voice. Slowly, he trails a hand up Luffy’s body until it’s at the back of the Angel’s neck. “Shit,” he breaths, “Luffy it was a joke, a bad joke, but just a joke.”

Luffy’s eyes narrow suspiciously. “You’re not going anywhere?”

"No where."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Okay."

And then Luffy is off his lap and walking around the stunned table until he reaches Nami. The navigator looks up at her captain, but before she can say anything, he’s bent over and his lips are brushing against the bruise on her neck, which suddenly hurts a lot less.

"Oi! You shitty-Captain! What do you think you’re doing to Nami-san?!"

"Shut up, Ero-cook!"

Before an argument can break out, Luffy backs away, a wide grin on his face.

"There," he chirps, "Now your Demon ouchie is gone, so Ace doesn’t have to feel guilty and I’m fine so Nami doesn’t have to feel guilty either. ‘Kay?"

Nami can only nod as she brings a hand to her neck, feeling perfectly healthy skin.

Luffy beams. “Great! Now that that’s settled, time for MEAT!” And the rubber captain is across the table taking food from anyone and everyone as if it were a normal day, which, for him, it was.

Chopper is peering up at Nami’s neck in awe. “He…healed her bruise.”

"I didn’t know Luffy could do that!" Usopp exclaims.

"It’s SUUUUUUUUUUPER cool, bro!"

"Yohohohohoh! Luffy-san has quite the gift!"

"I wonder why he hasn’t used it before?" wonders Robin.

"Because it only works with stuff I’ve caused," Ace answers.

"What do you mean?" the archeologist asks.

"We’re opposites," Ace answers with a nonchalant shrug, "We naturally compliment and oppose each other. We experimented with it a lot when we were younger."

"So his healing abilities only work on wounds you’ve caused?" Sanji asks.

"In my Demon form, yes," Ace says, taking a drink.

Before the conversation can carry on any further, Luffy pauses in his quest to eat thirty meals in one sitting. “Yhou guysh aurh bhuin borhin (You guys are being boring),” Luffy says through a mouthful of food before swallowing, “If you don’t stop, I’m going to eat all your food,” he says seriously.

And just like that, any remaining tension or worry that had built up over the past week is gone. Luffy is back and he’s fine, well enough to steal all the food on the ship. The thought causes laughs all around and the Straw Hat’s lunch resumes with its usual chaos.

Underneath the table, Ace holds Luffy’s hand tightly. The Angel interlaces their fingers without a thought, not at all hindered by eating with just one hand, and gives Ace’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

He’s here.

He’s fine.

He’s alive.

And he’s not going anywhere.


	2. Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flowers are stupid, frilly, girly things that Ace wouldn’t be caught dead with. So who decided it would be a good idea to give him one as a gift?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Slight AU, fluff, minor angst, Ace is like 12 in this

_**~Flowers~** _

_Flowers are for girls, but every once in a while, they can be for boys too._

* * *

Ace idly twirls the flower stem between his fingers as he sits at his usual spot on the cliff that overlooks the sea. He doesn’t know why he kept it, flowers are stupid and girly and definitely not something Ace would normally be caught dead carrying around. Maybe it’s because Luffy gave him this one. Or maybe it’s because it’s a nice red color and not some frilly pink. Ace doesn’t know why. He just knows that something is preventing him from throwing the flower away.

The Demon remembers when the Angel ran up to him that morning, proudly shoving the flower in his face.

“ _Look what I got Ace!”_

_Ace stares at the flower impassively. “It’s just a flower,” he says bluntly._

“ _Nu-huh! Makino says it’s a special flower called a red haibisket,” the Angel says proudly, completely butchering the word ‘hibiscus’ as he practically bounces in place._

“ _Uh-huh. And why should I care?” Ace asks._

_He really doesn’t. If Luffy wants to spend his time picking flowers, that’s fine. Ace has better things to do. Like train._

“ _Cause it’s for you silly!” Luffy exclaims, shoving the delicate flower into his hands._

“ _Wha –”_

_Ace is completely dumbfounded. Why the heck would Luffy give him a_ _**flower** _ _? That kind of stuff was for girls!_

“ _It’s from this nice lady,” Luffy continues, oblivious to the Demon’s growing confusion, “I had a dream about her last night. I don’t remember a lot about what happened, but I remember her. She was really pretty and warm to, like being wrapped up in the biggest hug ever. She had really long, shiny hair and she had this big smile on her face. She had freckles and big, brown eyes just like you, Ace! And she had a flower just like that in her hair! She said she had a present for you and that I would find it when I woke up. She told me to give it to you because she couldn’t. But she said that even though she isn’t here to tell you, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you. She says she loves you with all her heart.” Luffy grins and Ace can do nothing but stare at the Angel, wide-eyed. “And then I woke up and the flower was on my pillow. Makino told me what it was when she came to visit today!”_

_Ace looks down at the flower in his hands._

_Someone loves him?_

_He wants to laugh and call it a joke, but this is Luffy. Little, curious, innocent Luffy._

_So Ace’s fingers curl around the stem. And while he might not believe Luffy about where the flower came from and what it means, he holds onto it anyway._

"Knew I might find you here! Thought you could hide, did you?"

The loud, booming voice snaps him back to the present. He looks over his shoulder to see Garp walking towards him, hands in his pockets. Ace doesn’t jump up like he normally would; there’s an unspoken rule about this cliff. It’s a quiet place, for thinking and reflecting. Ace knows that Garp won’t try to show him any “love” here.

"What do you want, geezer?"

When Garp doesn’t say anything back, no yelling or crying, not even a simple spoken word, Ace turns to look back at his adopted grandfather.

Garp is looking at the flower in his hands. He has an expression on his face that Ace has never seen before. It’s soft and compassionate and sad and guilty all at the same time.

"Gramps?"

His call seems to snap the man out of his daze. “Where did you get that?” he asks softly.

So taken aback by Garp’s tone of voice, the answer slips from his lips of its own accord. “Luffy gave it to me. He said it was a gift from some lady he saw in a dream last night.”

Garp is silent as he walks up to Ace and kneels in front of the twelve year old, gently, he takes the flower from Ace’s limp fingers. Ace has no idea what to do; Garp has never acted this way around him before, not that he can remember at least. Ace doesn’t know how to handle this sudden tenderness and if he’s honest, it scares him a little. No one has ever really been _gentle_ with him before. It’s all new to him. Until Luffy, he hardly knew what affection was.

But Garp either doesn’t notice or ignores Ace’s complete confusion as he brings the flower up and gently places it in the little Demon’s hair, somehow managing to arrange it so the flower will stay in place on its own. When he pulls away, it takes Ace a minute to realize what he’s done. Once his brain catches up, he scowls at Garp.

"I’m not a girl, damnit!" he exclaims, hands flying to his head intending to rip the girly flower out of his hair.

"You look like her," Garp comments. Ace’s hands freeze halfway to his head as he turns wide eyes towards Garp, hands slowly falling to his sides. "Your mother used to wear a flower just like that one in her hair. Every day if she could," Garp reminisces. Ace clings hungrily to every word, eyes never leaving the man’s face. "She wore one every day of her pregnancy with you, even the day she gave birth."

Slowly, Ace brings a hand up to trace the delicate, red petals, Luffy’s words echoing in his head.

“ _She had really long, shiny hair and she had this big smile on her face. She had freckles and big, brown eyes just like you, Ace! And she had a flower just like that in her hair!”_

"I…look like her?" he asks haltingly, suddenly afraid to look Garp in the eye. This information is all new to him, something he’s thirsted for for ages. This is the woman who died so he could live. And while he doesn’t think the sacrifice was worth it, he knows that for whatever reason, Portgas D. Rouge loved him. Loves him.

Garp nods. “You’ve got her brown eyes. Her freckles too,” the marine says shortly, repeating what Luffy had said earlier that day.

_The flower was a gift from his mother._

“ _She says she loves you with all her heart.”_

Ace’s lips curve up into a wide grin and his eyes feel a little wet. But he can’t find it in himself to care because _his mother still loves him_ even though he killed her. And even though he still hates himself for it, part of him is so _happy_ that he feels like he might burst.

Garp sees the emotion on his grandson’s face and can’t help but grin. When Ace notices, he crosses his arms over his small chest and scowls, turning his head away.

"It’s still stupid and girly," he says of the flower.

But Garp notices that the little Demon makes no move to take it out of his hair.

With a fleeting, almost grateful, look at Garp, Ace runs off in search of Luffy. Garp chuckles fondly after him as he races off into the trees.

Flowers are still really girly.

But, just this once, he’s fine with that.


	3. Intimate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: mentions of sex, boys kissing

_**~Intimate~** _

_The morning after._

* * *

Ace takes a deep breath as he slowly comes to, opening his eyes to find sunlight streaming through the thin curtains covering the window of the inn room he spent the night in. He’s warm and a little sticky, his skin sticking together slightly in some places in a manner that is a little uncomfortable, but he can’t bring himself to move. He feels content and complete in a way he never has before and he can still feel the tingles that ran down his spine the night before. He tries to shift slightly, only to find that something is preventing his body from moving. Looking down, the Demon smiles at the sight that greets him.

Luffy is curled up next to him, lightly snoring on his shoulder. Both of his Angel’s legs are wrapped around one of his and his rubbery arms are wrapped around his bare torso. Luffy is pressing into his side, so close that their skin seems to have fused together. The bed they’re on is a complete mess, a single sheet thrown haphazardly over their tangled forms. Ace surveys the mess as best he can, just to make sure they didn’t break anything. Luffy makes a soft sound of protest at the movement and shoves himself even closer to his brother. The Demon chuckles lightly, tracing his fingers up the line of his Angel’s spine, as his mind replays last night’s events.

Their crews had docked at the same island and it didn’t take long for both of them to find each other. Both of their crews ended up at a bar, which soon resulted in a full blown pirate party. Ace doesn’t remember everything that happened, but he knows he started it. He knows he’s the one who grew bold and dragged Luffy upstairs, knows he’s the one who started taking off their clothes, knows he’s the one who made all of the first moves. Luffy never once resisted or said no; just gave him this soft, knowing smile, his eyes shining in a way Ace didn’t recognize.

Honestly, he never thought that something like that would ever happen between the two of them; but he can’t say he’s surprised. It’s just like the first time Luffy kissed him. It’s a different layer to their relationship, another level of intimacy and closeness they can share with each other. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wonders if Luffy was just waiting for him to make the first move. He knows for a fact that he was Luffy’s first, a thought that makes him burn with a possessive, almost primal, kind of pride. It’s strange; he’s never once before last night thought of claiming Luffy as his. But now that it’s happened, he refuses to let him be taken by anyone else. He knows that he is now Luffy’s in the same way and it will stay as such, Demon’s lust or not.

They were one last night, connected in both body and soul, and Ace finds himself relishing in the memory.

"You’re thinking too loud," a voice grumbles near his ear, still heavy with sleep.

Ace grins, turning his head slightly so that he can plant a kiss on his Angel’s forehead. “Good morning to you to, love,” he teases.

Luffy mumbles incoherently before throwing a leg over Ace’s hips, repositioning himself so he’s straddling his brother’s waist and lying over his chest. Ace watches as he settles himself with an amused expression.

"Comfy?" he asks.

"You’re sticky," Luffy whines, nuzzling into him anyway.

Ace snorts. “Your fault,” he replies, bring up a hand to massage the back of Luffy’s neck. The Angel goes limp on top of him. “You fell asleep and then wouldn’t let me go so I couldn’t clean us up.”

Luffy just hums in response, shifting slightly, stopping when a dull ache shoots through his lower back. Ace feels him flinch and looks down at him in concern.

"You okay?"

"A little sore," he says, "It’s not that bad."

Ace hums, letting it go as his Angel settles on him again, head resting in the curve of his throat. They lay like that in silence for a few moments, Ace lightly tracing patterns into Luffy’s back with the tips of his fingers.

"What are you thinking about?" Luffy asks softly, warm breath fanning across his Demon’s jaw.

Ace smiles slightly at the ceiling; leave it to Luffy to be concerned about him the morning after when he’s the one in pain. “You’re not very pure anymore,” he says lightly, but there’s something else in his voice, something that makes Luffy tilt his head up to try and look at him.

Ace doesn’t regret anything that happened between them; he wouldn’t change anything about it. He loved everything that happened. But that doesn’t stop the little voice in the back of his head, the one that always seems to know his doubts and fears. Luffy is the Angel; Luffy is pure and innocent. Ace has taken that from him, has tainted him in his core. And while the events last night were more natural than breathing, Ace can’t help but feel a little like he’s done something he shouldn’t have.

The Demon is snapped out of his musings by lips brushing along his neck, nipping at skin.

"You think too much," Luffy breathes.

"I took your innocence," Ace replies, wondering if his brother even understands what happened.

"Hmm. No you didn’t," Luffy says softly into his skin, "I gave it to you because I don’t want to give it to anyone else. I know you’ll take care of it. I trust you."

_I love you._

And then he pulls back and looks Ace in the eyes, smiling gently. The Demon has to resist the urge to hit himself; of course Luffy understands. The Angel may be dense, but he’s perceptive when he needs to be. Which is almost all of the time around Ace as the Demon isn’t one to openly express his feelings. Luffy knows him so well it scares him sometimes.

Ace buries a hand in Luffy’s dark hair and drags his brother’s lips to his. Luffy returns the kiss, molding himself to Ace’s body as it becomes more heated. When they part, Luffy gives a breathless giggle as Ace plants a kiss in his hair.

"But next time," Luffy says, trailing light, fleeting kisses along Ace’s jaw, "I’m going to be the one who pleases you."

Ace chuckles. “Oh yeah?” he says tauntingly, teasing his little brother by poking him in the side, entertained by the thought Luffy presents.

Luffy hums, the vibrations running between there connected bodies. “You deserve pleasure too, Ace,” Luffy says softly into his ear, that unusual seriousness that makes people stop and listen to him lining his voice, “And I want to be the one who gives it to you.”

Ace runs a hand through Luffy’s tangled hair, trying to ignore the warmth bubbling in his chest, “We’ll see,” he says, all traces of joking gone.

Luffy shifts slightly again and the Demon frowns slightly at the griminess of their bodies. “We need to shower,” he comments.

The Angel sits up straight at that, still straddling his hips, an unfamiliar, hungry gleam in his eyes. “Shower sex?” he asks.

Ace is so shocked he chokes on his own spit before exploding into full-blown laughter. Taking the laughter as consent, Luffy drags his brother to the bathroom.

Idly, as his Angel pins him to the shower wall and makes good on his promise to please him, Ace wonders what he’s created.


	4. Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin learns one night that her captain is full of surprises.

_**~Dance~** _

_Sometimes a night under the stars is all that is needed._

* * *

Robin knows he is coming before he gets there.

It’s their first night on the Thousand Sunny and she has second watch. She’s up in the crow’s nest, a blanket, book, and a thermos of coffee her company for the night. She isn’t reading right now though, just looking out over the sea and watching the stars, wondering over everything that’s happened in the past few days. For the first time in years, she feels at home, safe and secure. Protected by people who love her.

She supposes she shouldn’t be surprised when Luffy climbs up into the crow’s nest that night. He doesn’t say anything, just stands behind her, unusually silent. Before Robin can say anything about his presence though, Luffy is pressed up against her back, arms wrapped around her waist. She feels his content sigh on the back of her neck. Robin is stunned. Luffy has always been an affectionate, touchy-feel person, but she has rarely been on the receiving end of it, the young captain always respecting her space.

"Luffy?" she asks.

Luffy hums, reaching up to take of his hat and place it on her head. Robin blinks at that, clearly remembering what happened the last time she had touched the hat way back before Alabasta. He rests his cheek on her shoulder, peering up at her with bright eyes.

"You’re nakama," he says.

And the truth and sincerity in his voice makes her smile. “I know.”

Luffy’s grip around her tightens and for the first time she realizes how tense he is.

"I won’t leave again," she says softly, smiling slightly as her captain relaxes against her.

They stay like that for a while, neither of them speaking, and for a moment, Robin almost believes that he’s fallen asleep standing up when he pulls away. He tugs her around to face him, giving her that famous grin.

"Dance with me," he says.

And she is so surprised that by the time she is able to answer him, Luffy already has a hand on her waist and is gently guiding her through the steps. She smiles, bringing one hand up to his shoulder and placing the other in her captain’s light grip.

"I wasn’t aware you could dance, Captain-san," she says lightly.

Luffy grins. “Makino taught me back home,” he explains.

"Makino?"

He nods. “She’s this really nice lady that owns a tavern on the island I come from. She took care of me for a while when I was little.”

And Robin finds herself smiling because Luffy never talks about his past; he lives firmly in the present. And yet here he is sharing a part of himself with her.

"She taught me and Ace all kinds of things," he continues, "Ace was really funny around her though, he blushed a lot."

Robin chuckles as Luffy leads her through the steps of the dance, his eyes on their feet. “Ace is your brother, right?”

"Yeah! He’s a pirate just like me. Zoro says he’s really strong because he’s the second commander under Whitebeard or something like that, but I already knew Ace was strong," he says, with a confused furrow in his brow.

"But perhaps Zoro did not know he was that strong," she replies, unable to hide her amusement.

Luffy hums before looking up to meet her eyes. His eyes are dark and curious and a little worried, but he twirls her and when she is facing him again, there is a small smile on his lips.

"You remind me of Ace," he says, looking up at her with that small, fond smile. She tilts her head to the side, confused, but encouraging him to continue. Luffy stops, letting go of her hand to bring his to join the other on her waist. "You have shadows like he does," he says softly, seriously, "Ace doesn’t think he deserves to live; he’s trying to find his place."

And Robin knows that Luffy is trusting her with this, this piece of his family. She wonders how Ace sees Luffy; if he’s that same unshakable foundation, that guiding light he is for her, for his brother.

"He’s been hurt, just like you," Luffy continues, "But he’s found people, is finding people, who make him want to live. Just like how you found us."

Luffy is grinning at her again and she can’t help but smile back. Not one of her small, stoic smiles, but a true happy one that makes Luffy’s grin that much wider. Eventually, when Robin sits down again, Luffy doesn’t leave. Instead, he lies down, head in her lap and looks up at her.

"You’re nakama, Robin," he says, and his eyes glow silver in the dark of the night, "Nakama are forever. You belong with us."

And Robin smiles, feeling the weight of the straw hat on her head, running slender fingers through her captain’s dark hair. “I understand.”

Luffy nods. “Good,” he says, rolling over so he can nuzzle his face into her stomach as he wraps his arms around her thighs, “Don’t leave again.”

"I won’t," she promises. She means it.

Luffy makes a happy, content sound and falls asleep sprawled out on his archeologist’s lap. Robin just smiles and picks up her book, feeling lighter than she has in years. And it’s all due to this one boy, this one determined, charismatic, dreamer of a boy that grabs onto you and refuses to let you go. Who makes you hope and believe again. Who shines a light on everything he touches. Who reaches out a hand to pull you up when you fall.

This one boy, who Robin has no doubt, will one day be Pirate King.


	5. Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace and Robin ponder the miracle that is Luffy. Companion piece to Dance.

_**~Shadows~** _

_Sooner or later, the Light finds them._

* * *

Ace sits by one of the many bonfires, a tankard of grog in hand, and watches as his brother dances with Usopp, Franky, and Chopper, while trying to draw some of Ace’s nakama into the fray with them. They are having varying levels of success as the Whitebeard pirates are still trying to apply _logic_ to the young captain’s actions. Ace thinks he might pity them – just a bit – if he weren’t so entertained.

"I believe that Luffy has broken your crew’s brains, Fire Fist-san," a smooth, calm, and amused voice says to his left.

Ace turns and sees Robin sit down beside him, her stoic features alight with mirth. Ace grins. “They’ll be fine,” he replies easily, “Once they stop trying to apply logic and common sense to him.”

Robin chuckles. “Indeed,” she says, watching Luffy for a moment before turning back to Ace, “I don’t believe we were properly introduced in all of the excitement.”

The Demon smirks and holds out his hand. “Portgas D. Ace.”

"Nico Robin," the woman replies with her small, barely there smile and a firm shake of Ace’s hand.

The Demon catches a strange glint in her eyes; she’s curious about something. She wants information from him. Ace smiles mentally, a game takes two. And he likes games. After all, Luffy’s nakama or not, if this woman wants something from him, she’s going to have to fight for it.

"So when did you join Luffy’s crew?" he asks, playing ignorant and taking a sip of his drink, watching the woman over the rim of his tankard.

"Shortly after they left Alabasta," the dark haired woman replies with a small laugh, "They were very lively. It was a bit of a change."

"Alabasta, huh? Sounds like I just missed you," Ace comments.

"So I heard," Robin says with a grin, "You made quite an impression on them."

Ace laughs. “Did I? I thought for sure the two of us confused the hell out of them.”

"Oh you did," Robin assures with a sip from her own drink, "But you gained quite a few admires during your visit."

Ace gives her an easy smirk and the two fall into a comfortable silence, content to watch the chaos around them. The Demon watches her from the corner of his eye and isn’t all that surprised by what he sees. Luffy has touched her, healed her. Like he’s done to all his crew. He can see the scars, the old ghosts. He can read some of them. But none of them are as clear to him as Robin’s. When Ace looks at the older woman, he sees shadows. The same shadows that have hung over him since the day of his birth. He grins fondly as he watches Luffy; it seems the Angel just can’t help himself when it comes to the dark.

"Is there a reason you are watching me, Fire Fist-san?"

Ace smirks and lets his eyes slid shut. “Not in particular,” he replies easily, “I’m just waiting.”

Robin raises a delicate eyebrow. “Oh?”

The Demon turns his gaze to Luffy. “He saved you.”

It’s not a question. And Ace doesn’t need to look at the archeologist to see the realization flash across her eyes.

"He did."

Ace hums, his smirk diming into a small smile. Robin watches him, trying to read his expression. She thinks she gets what Nami was trying to explain to them earlier about Luffy and Ace’s relationship. It’s easy for her to read the Demon’s body language, but at the same time there is a depth to it she can’t even begin to grasp.

"…How do you see him?" she asks softly.

Ace grins and Robin knows he has been waiting for her to ask. His eyes flicker over her face briefly before turning back to his brother. “He is my soul,” Ace says simply, “He is everything that is light and pure.” Robin is silent, taking in his words, the tone of his voice, the expression on his face. She has been wondering about this since that night in the crow’s nest so long ago when her captain told her she reminded him of his brother. “He glows, you know,” Ace continues a soft smile on his face, “No one else can see it, but it’s always there, right under his skin. It branches out when he touches people. That’s why he always seems so warm.”

Robin hums softly and takes a sip of her drink. “I remind him of you,” she says after a moment.

The Demon turns to her, giving her his full attention. His eyes lock on hers and she is frozen in place. It’s the same weighted stare that her captain has, the one that looks through you, that can see all of you, that you can’t hide anything from. His lips twitch into a slow smile, his brown eyes tinged with a knowing, but hopeful, sadness.

"I suppose you would," he replies softly with a light chuckle, "Luffy has this thing for shadows."

Robin smiles at the understanding that’s passed between them. “He does seem rather fond of dark places,” she agrees.

At that moment, Luffy comes up behind them and throws an arm over each of their shoulders. “What are you guys doing? Sitting is boring! This is a party!”

Robin chuckles and Ace smiles. “Just getting to know your crew,” the Demon says, “I didn’t get to meet Robin back in Alabasta.”

Luffy blinks at that, expression turning thoughtful. “Oh yeah,” he says, as if just remembering that fact. Ace and Robin trade an amused look over his head.

"Your brother was nice enough to take the time to talk to me," Robin says calmly.

The Angel looks between them, expression blank. For a long moment, nothing is said. Then Luffy smiles softly and leans forward, pressing a light kiss to Ace’s lips before turning to Robin and giving her a soft peck on the forehead, surprising the older woman.

"Okay," the young captain chirps, before getting up and bouncing away, back towards the group dancing around the fire.

Ace watches him before turning back to his companion, laughing at the shocked expression on her face. “Looks like you’re part of the family,” he says, amused, reaching out and throwing an arm over her shoulders, pulling her closer, “Whether you want it or not.”

Robin chuckles and lets herself lean into the fire user’s side. “So it would seem,” she replies, she pauses a moment before looking up at him, “You are rather warm yourself, Fire Fist-san.”

The Demon grins down at her, eyes twinkling. “And you glow rather brightly, Archeologist-san,” he teases, tone light, but his gaze is warm, understanding.

The dark haired woman smiles. “It seems us shadows are drawn together,” she comments.

Ace chuckles. “But sooner or later, we get dragged into the light.”

Over by the fire, Luffy pauses, glancing over at his brother and his archeologist, and grins. Shadows can be dark and dangerous places, but he rather enjoys making them light.


	6. Watching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events of The Pure and the Tainted from Sabo’s point of view, featuring the third brother’s adventures in the afterlife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this WAY before Sabo being alive was even hinted at in canon. So for this chapter, we are going to pretend Sabo is dead. Or you know, this is my headcanon of what Sabo would be doing if he were actually dead.

**_~Watching~_ **

_The third never really left._

* * *

 

When Sabo starts to come to, the first thing he feels is warmth. Like someone is holding him. He’s never really been held before. His parents never cared for that sort of thing and Ace and Dadan and the guys show a rougher, more subtle kind of affection. Luffy hugs him a lot, but his little brother is smaller than him, so Sabo holds him. But he _himself_ has never been held. The realization makes him a little sad, but also makes him enjoy the warmth that much more. As he becomes more aware, he feels something – fingers? – carding through his hair. He’s leaning into something warm and very soft, held in place by something long, thin, and just as warm wrapped around his waist.

He feels heavy for some reason. He tries to move his arms only to find that the most he can do is twitch his fingers. This makes him focus on what he’s feeling and he realizes that he’s…vibrating? No, the thing holding him is. But it’s not really vibrating; it’s more of an echo. That’s when he hears the humming. It’s soft and smooth and delicate; it makes him feel safe. It also sounds familiar to that song Luffy hums all the time, except in tune and without the glossing over of the forgotten bits. Luffy said Shanks and his crew used to sing it, right? So that makes it a pirate song. Who is humming a pirate song?

Sabo decides to stop trying to move in favor of just opening his eyes. At first, his eyelids are just as heavy as the rest of him. Slowly though, he is able to lift them. It’s bright. Very bright. He shuts his eyes again and opens them carefully.

The humming has stopped.

His eyes are open again. And this time he can see. And what he sees takes his breath away. A woman’s kind face is smiling down at him. She’s the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen; even prettier than Makino, which is saying a lot because Makino is _really_ pretty. She has long, shiny hair that cascades over her shoulders, brushing against his arms, a tropical red flower tucked into the light tresses. Her features are delicate: pale, pink lips pulled into a gentle smile; a splash of freckles across her nose and cheeks; deep, kind brown eyes that somehow remind him of Ace.

“Hello, Sabo” she says, grinning down at him, “Finally awake?”

Sabo blinks. “Um…yes?”

The woman laughs. It’s a light sound, like twinkling bells, high and free.

Sabo realizes that he’s sitting in her lap, her arms wrapped around him. He sees his hat sitting on the ground next to them. He looks up and finally takes a look around. They’re in a field, a very large field, one he’s never seen before, filled with flowers and grass and a few trees here and there. He turns back to the woman holding him and finds her simply watching with a gentle smile.

“I don’t mean to be rude,” he says slowly, some of his confusion seeping into his voice, “but who are you? And how do you know my name?”

The woman smiles. “My name is Portgas D. Rouge.”

Sabo blinks, his brow furrowing. He’s heard that name before. Where has he heard it? Oh. Ace had mentioned it once or twice before. He said it was his…mother’s name. Sabo’s eyes go wide. “You’re Ace’s mom?” he half asks, half yells.

Rouge just laughs. “Yes, yes,” she says, her eye twinkling, “And I know you from watching over him. You are a very good friend to him.”

He stares, trying to wrap his head around what’s happening. “But aren’t you…dead?”

Rouge’s smile fades some. “Yes,” she says calmly.

He blinks. Oh. Well. “Does that mean I’m dead?”

Her smile turns sad and she runs slender fingers through his blond curls. “Yes.”

And then he remembers. The boat. The fire. The explosion.

“Oh,” he says softly, voice no more than a whisper.

He’s not sure how he feels about that. Is he supposed to be sad? Angry? He doesn’t really know. What he does know is that he won’t see his brother’s anymore. And that makes him feel regret. They won’t be able to sail together. He won’t get to see Luffy grow up. Or see Ace achieve his dream.

“Shhhh,” Rouge soothes, and Sabo realizes he’s close to tears, can feel them stinging the backs of his eyes, “You’re okay; everything will be fine.”

“But…”

Rouge shakes her head. “You’ll be able to see them again,” she says, like she knows what he’s thinking, “But it might be a while before they can see you.”

Sabo is quiet for a moment, trying to understand everything that is happening. Rouge rubs his back, silently waiting. “What am I supposed to do now?” he asks.

“You watch over them,” the woman says, “Guide them and protect them as best you can until the day they join us here.”

He nods slowly. “Okay. But…what about right now?”

Rouge grins and Sabo blinks because her smile looks almost like Ace’s but there’s just something in his that hers doesn’t have. “Right now, I am your guide,” she says, “I’ll take care of you.”

“Why?” Sabo can’t help but ask. No one has ever _wanted_ to take care of him. Not even his own parents.

Rouge just smiles at him. “You are my son’s brother. The brother of my son, is my son.”

Sabo stares up at her and his lips slowly spread into a wide smile. “Okay, Mom.”

She laughs.

* * *

 

They’re in a forest right now. Rouge is holding his hand as she guides him down a dirt path telling him all kinds of things. How the world they’re in now works; how they can interact with the world they left behind.

“So we can only visit people we knew while we were alive?”

Rouge nods. “And anyone they happen to form a deep bond with.”

“So I could watch over Ace and Luffy’s crews?”

She laughs. “Yes, you can probably watch over their crews as well.”

Sabo nods. “Good. Cause Luffy’s will probably have to babysit him and Ace’s will probably be at their wits end trying to keep him out of trouble.”

He smiles when she laughs again. He likes her laugh. He swings their connected hands as they walk. Back and forth, back and forth. It’s odd, how much of a child he feels like right now. Maybe it’s because he’s never really had parents. Or maybe it’s because no one has ever taken care of him before, treated him like a child, like something precious. He thinks he should find it odd how much he likes holding her hand but he doesn’t; it’s warm and safe. Sabo thinks that it’s too bad she died before Ace could know her; Ace would like her very much.

“Do you watch Ace?” he asks, even though he knows the answer.

But Rouge just smiles. “Yes.”

“He loves you very much.”

“I love him.”

Sabo pauses. “He would probably cry if heard you say that,” he says softly.

Rouge tightens her grip on his hand and sighs. “Ace has been dealt a very unlucky hand in life,” she says, a sad frown on her face, “The world will hate him without even knowing him just because of the blood in his veins and the color of his wings.” She pauses, stopping to look down at him, a small smile tugging at her lips. “But if anyone can bring him some light in that darkness, Luffy can.”

Sabo grins.

* * *

Rogue opens the door to a small house, Sabo right on her heels. He looks around curiously.

“Is this your home?” he asks.

Rouge nods. “Of a sort. Places and things don’t mean much here. Neither does time.”

“So it’s here right now, but could be gone tomorrow?”

“Correct,” she smiles at his confused face, “It takes some getting used to, but things in this world are based on our thoughts.”

Sabo nods slowly, taking that in. “That makes sense.”

“Rouge! There you are!”

Sabo whirls around at the sudden voice, coming face to face with a tall, dark haired man standing in the doorway to what looks like the kitchen. He’s wearing a red captain’s jacket with gold tassels and a plain shirt and pants underneath. A black mustache is in place over a _very_ familiar grin. A grin that looks _just like_ Ace’s. It has that something that Rouge’s was missing.

“Hello, Roger,” Rouge says with a smile.

“So this is him, huh?” The former Pirate King says, kneeling down in front of a gaping Sabo. “Bit of a tough break you caught, kid. But I’ve gotta admit, you’ve got some guts in ya!” He threw his head back and laughed.

“Y-You’re…”

“Gol D. Roger,” he says with that same wide grin, “At your service, kid.”

Rouge chuckles at Sabo’s shocked expression. “I think you’ve overwhelmed him.”

Roger rubs the back of his neck sheepishly while Sabo tries to wrap his head around what’s happening. “You don’t act like a devil,” he blurts without thinking.

The man blinks, before breaking out into loud laughter. “Boy, you have a lot to learn about the world. You and Ace both,” Roger sighs and shakes his head, “Damn kid is asking all the wrong questions.”

Sabo stares. “Ace…I mean…he doesn’t…”

Roger and Rogue both give him the same sad, gentle smile. “It’s alright, lad,” he says, “I know what Ace thinks of me. I knew he would probably come to feel that way as soon as I found out Rouge was pregnant with him. The world is a very cruel place, Sabo.”

Sabo shifts nervously. He never in a million years expected to meet Roger; never even considered the possibility. But now that he has, he isn’t really sure what to think. He doesn’t know what he expected, but whatever it was, it wasn’t this.

Roger suddenly claps, standing up to his full height, grin back in place. “But Ace is a stubborn brat, he’ll be fine.”

“He’ll be just like his father,” Rouge comments.

Sabo blinks. “But Ace doesn’t wan –”

Roger cuts him off with a laugh. “You know what I did that got the world so angry with me, kid?” Sabo slowly shakes his head. “I lived how I wanted to. Ignored the rules and laws and did whatever the hell I felt like. To live freer than any man and to live without regrets.”

And Sabo finds himself staring because that sounds _exactly_ like Ace.

“Stubborn brat he is, too,” Roger continues, “Never runs away from a fight! He’s already a man at his age!” And then he laughs.

“He gets that from you,” Rouge says dryly.

Roger pouts. Yes actually _pouts_. “You make it sound like it’s a bad thing.”

“It will get him into trouble one day!” Sabo cuts in, surprising both himself and the couple, “Do you know how many times I had to bail him out because of that?”

“Yes,” Rouge says calmly.

Roger grins. “Of course it’ll get him into trouble! But what kind of man doesn’t brave danger when he has something to protect? You never turn your back on an opponent or you lose!”

Sabo groans. “You sound just like him.”

Rouge laughs and Roger claps him on the shoulder with a grin. “Welcome to the family, kid!”

* * *

Sabo really wants to hit Ace. Hard.

But, unfortunately, he no longer has a physical form so he has no fist with which to hit Ace.

It has been three days since his death. _Three days_. He gets what Rouge meant now when she said that time moves differently; he was pretty sure he had spent weeks with her and Roger before he finally worked out how to visit his brothers. And what does he find? Luffy drowning in sorrow and Ace not doing anything to fix it. It has been three. Entire. _Days_.

Luffy has stopped talking. Stopped _eating_.

Sabo wants to take Ace by the shoulders and shake him and demand _what the fuck do you think you’re doing_ and _I told you to take care of him damnit_ and then beat the crap out of him for ignoring their little brother. But Ace can’t see or hear Sabo, and Sabo can’t hit Ace. He can only watch as his brothers try to figure out how to handle his death. He feels a bit bad when he thinks of it like that because Ace lost him too, but Luffy’s biggest fear is being alone.

He stands next to Ace as he watches Luffy cry on the cliff. The Demon runs a hand through his hair. “Damnit, Sabo,” he mutters, “You were always better at this than me.” Ace clenches his fists at his side, frustration and worry showing in his eyes.

Sabo softens some at that. Because Ace is right. Sabo was always the one to comfort Luffy when he was upset or sad; Ace just doesn’t know how to deal with it.

Instinctively, he reaches out and puts a hand on his brother’s shoulder. He’s surprised when he feels warm flesh under his palm instead of just passing through Ace. The Demon stiffens and Sabo realizes that Ace can _feel_ him. He’s not sure how this is happening, but he decides not to waste his chance.

“Don’t be stupid, Ace,” he says and Ace’s eyes go wide with shock. The Demon looks around frantically, but his eyes pass right over Sabo. The blond boy tightens his hold on Ace’s shoulder and he stills. “You’re his big brother too, Ace. He needs you.”

Ace bites his lip, eyes wet. “But…I don’t know what to do,” he whispers, voice trembling.

“You don’t need to,” Sabo says gently, “You just need to be there.”

And he removes his hand from Ace’s shoulder. The little Demon reaches up, almost as if to catch his hand and hold onto it and drag it back, but he’s met with empty air. Sabo watches with a sad, fond smile as Ace squeezes his eyes shut, lips trembling. He presses his palms to his eyes and takes a deep shuddering breath. He waits until his trembling stops and then removes his hands. The Demon looks determined now and walks toward his little brother.

Sabo grins at him even though Ace can’t see it.

* * *

Sabo quickly grows into his role as Ace and Luffy’s guardian.

He still doesn’t know what happened that day, but he’s discovered it wasn’t a onetime thing. Most of the time it’s just touches; but Ace and Luffy _know_ he’s there sometimes. He can touch them and they can feel him. It’s rare, but it happens. Rouge and Roger are a bit baffled when Sabo tells them about it; after all, they shouldn’t be able to interact at all.

But Ace and Luffy aren’t normal humans.

They are the Demon and the Angel.

So perhaps that is why.

The three of them can’t think of any other reason.

And that’s another thing that Sabo has grown into.

Rouge and Roger have more or less adopted him. They are his parents and he is their son. Rouge makes him feel like a child sometimes, something he finds he doesn’t necessarily dislike. Being a child once in a while is…nice. Roger seems to think so as well because he acts just like one, albeit a very large one. At first, Sabo is surprised how easy it is to get along with the man; he’s a lot like Luffy. So much so that it scares him a little. It makes him wonder to. Just what Luffy will be able to do. The possibilities are endless.

It just sort of happens. He starts calling them ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’. He doesn’t mean to, in fact, he isn’t even aware he’s doing it at first until he notices the bright grins on their faces and finds that he quite likes having them as his parents. They are what real parents should be; people who care for their children, not use them of their own gain.

Sabo decides that when Ace dies, he’s locking him in a room with Roger and not letting them out until Ace learns to get along with his father. Because the crap that people spout about him is ridiculous.

Rouge gently points out that they don’t know any better. They are fed lies that are sold as truths by the government. Sabo knows that she is right, and he knows that she is in no way trying to justify their actions or words, but that is no excuse for being so obliviously ignorant. For wishing for the death of a _child_. For _relishing_ in the mere thought of it. It’s disgusting and makes Sabo fume.

He is so very, very proud of Luffy when the boy gives Ace their gift that first birthday after his death. And when the Angel embraces the Demon, and the Demon cries silently in those loving arms, Sabo wraps his arms around both of them and holds their souls close.

As time passes, Sabo lets himself grow up with his brothers. It’s a bit weird as Rogue and Roger remain unchanged, as do many others that they meet and visit. But as Rouge told him when he first arrived, this world is controlled by one’s thoughts. And Sabo wants to grow up with his brothers, even if he can’t do it physically. His parents seem overjoyed with this decision, though he can’t quite understand why. When he asks, Roger laughs, long and hard, while Rouge smiles gently.

“Parents are always proud to watch their children grow,” she says.

Sabo blinks, completely dumbfounded, before grinning brightly.

He thinks it’s odd sometimes, how happy he is. After all, he’s dead. And he died very young. But he’s not sad. Or bitter. Just happy.

And when Rouge hugs him or Roger grins at him or when Ace and Luffy talk to him like he’s right there even though they can’t see him, he doesn’t find it so odd anymore.

* * *

Sabo sighs as he leans against the rail of the ship next to Ace.

It’s one of those times where he wishes he had a body. Because Ace really needs to be hit.

Roger had laughed like a loon when they found out that the Demon was going after Whitebeard. Rouge just gave a resigned sigh, but there was an amused gleam in her eyes that she couldn’t quite hide. Sabo is pretty sure his parents are crazy. Then again, he is to, so he has no room to talk.

He just wishes he could snap Ace out of his trance. At this rate the Demon is going to go crazy. He can see the way tension rolls off his brother in waves, the way the wild gleam in his eyes seems to grow every day. He’s reaching his limit. And Sabo doesn’t know what to do.

When Marco walks over and tries to talk to Ace, he sees an opportunity. The blond pirate has tried numerous times to approach the Demon only to be brushed aside each time. It’s just like when Ace first met him. When he first met Luffy. Ace isn’t good with new people. Never has been. Especially when he sees them as a threat. But Sabo can tell that these pirates are good people, that they can help Ace.

So when Marco asks what’s wrong Sabo leans over and whispers in his ear.

“Tell him.”

And Ace does. He looks so surprised by the words that seem to have slipped from his mouth of their own accord that Sabo wants to laugh. But then Ace curls in on himself and Sabo can see him fighting for control, desperately clinging to the frayed edges of his conscious mind. Marco looks worried and starts to panic a little when Ace bites his own arm hard enough to draw blood. Sabo kneels next to his brother and calmly tells him to breathe.

Slowly, the Demon comes back to himself and lets Marco look at his arm, though he refuses to look at him.

Sabo sighs and gently nudges his shoulder. “Tell him,” he whispers.

And Ace does.

* * *

 

“Sabo!” Luffy yells to the sky, both arms raised into the air, “Look at me! I’m setting out to sea too!”

Sabo chuckles from his place in the small rowboat that his little brother has decided to start out in. “Yes, yes, I see you,” he says with a grin, well aware that Luffy can’t hear him. But the Angel’s excitement is contagious.

Luffy grins, placing a hand on the hat resting on his head. “You were first, Sabo. Ace was second. I’m the third to go, but I won’t lose! Wait for me, Ace! I’ll catch up to you soon!”

The soul of his older brother is grinning widely, his own excitment curling in his stomach as the townsfolk ask what the heck Luffy is yelling and muttering about. There’s this feeling in the air, one that wasn’t there before today. It’s almost as if the World is quivering with anticipation, like Luffy is what it’s been waiting for.

“It’s a challenge!” Luffy says to the townspeople, grinning that wide, determined grin of his. That one that Sabo thinks looks just like Roger’s.

He watches as the Angel takes out the Lord of the Coast with one punch, avenging Shanks arm. When Luffy turns, his eyes are silver and he’s looking directly at Sabo. “I can do it,” he says, “I _will_ do it.”

And Sabo grins.

Because he knows it’s true.

* * *

 

“Luffy, your navigator’s mom is batshit insane,” Sabo says dryly.

Kuina giggles somewhere behind him, while Bellemere just gives him a coy look. Their three charges are milling around their small boats, oblivious to their presence.

“What’s the matter, Blondie?” the former marine asks, “Don’t know how to handle a woman?”

Sabo snorts. “If you think any woman could possibly be crazier than this idiot, you’ve got another thing coming, lady.”

“He is a little…odd,” Kuina cuts in.

The blond rolls his eyes and puts his hands behind his head casually. “You don’t know that half of it,” he says to her before turning back to Bellemere. “I just hope your daughter knows what she’s getting herself into.”

Bellemere huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Nami can take care of herself.”

“Not arguing that,” Sabo placates, “But she thinks this is temporary. Luffy’s already got his hooks in her whether she knows it or not; he’s not going to just let her leave.”

The woman sighs. “Look, kid. Nami’s a drifter. She’s given herself a job, and if she has to leave your brother to finish it she will.”

Sabo just shrugs. “Luffy’ll go after her and drag her back.”

“He’s already made a decision, Bellemere-san,” Kuina says, swinging her feet back and forth from where she’s perched on the rail next to a napping Zoro, “I haven’t known Luffy-san for very long, but he’s a lot like Zoro; once he’s decided something, it’s going to happen.”

Bellemere hums thoughtfully before a grin forms on her lips. “Hmmmm, looks like my little girl will have to deal with pirates.”

Sabo barks a laugh. “Not just deal with them, she’s going to become one of them.”

The woman just grins. “We’ll see.”

“I can’t wait until Lu turns everything you guys know upside down,” Sabo sighs.

Bellemere frowns a bit at that and a look of confusion enters her eyes. “Why do you talk about him like he’s so special?” she wonders aloud. Kuina turns to Sabo as well, a similar expression on her face.

Sabo just blinks. “Because he is,” he says simply. His answer doesn’t seem to satisfy either of them as the pair just look at him, so when a spark of inspiration hits him, he grins. “Here,” he says, taking Bellemere’s wrist and guiding her over to where Luffy is sitting at the head of the ship, watching the waves.

Sabo makes to place her hand on the back of his little brother’s neck, but Bellemere resists his hold. “What are you doing? The living can’t feel us, I’ll just go through him.”

The blond just grins at her. “Relax,” he says, “I’m just introducing you.”

And with that, he tugs her forward and Bellemere’s eyes go wide when her hand connects with the solid, warm flesh of Luffy’s neck. The Angel tenses and straightens up; Sabo knows that he does not recognize this touch, so he weaves his fingers through Bellemere’s and the tension drains from his brother’s body. Kuina is watching them with wide eyes while Bellemere’s mouth tries to form words.

“I…can feel him,” she says, voice heavy with shock, “He can feel _me_.”

She turns wide eyes to Sabo, looking for some kind of answer, but Sabo just grins.

“Hey, Lu,” he says as if having a normal conversation, he knows that Luffy cannot hear him, but he knows the Angel will still understand his meaning, “This is Bellemere, she’s Nami’s mom. Through bond and not blood; bit like us. She’s not so sure about leaving Nami with you, but I know you’ll take care of her. Just be careful, yeah? Even I can see her wound runs deep.”

With that, Sabo pulls their hands away. Bellemere and Kuina watch in shock as Luffy turns to look directly at Nami, face blank. The orange haired girl is standing at the prow of the other boat, looking out at the sea. Her face is pulled into a slight frown, though it morphs into a look of confusion and slight annoyance when she notices Luffy staring.

“What?” she asks.

Luffy doesn’t say anything for a moment, just stares at her with those dark eyes of his before suddenly grinning. “Nothing,” he chirps and Nami huffs, “I just think you should smile more.”

Nami blinks at that. “Huh?”

“You look pretty when you smile,” the Angel says, “Besides, the more you smile, the more good things happen!”

Nami’s eyes go wide at that and Bellemere is left blinking as Luffy turns to look back at the sea.

“What just happened?” she asks, dazed.

“You met the man who’s going to become the Pirate King,” Sabo answers with a grin, turning to Kuina and holds out a hand to her, “Your turn.”

The girl jumps off her perch and eagerly walks up to him, slipping her hand into his. Sabo places their hands on Luffy’s back and the young captain tenses briefly in acknowledgement.

“This is Kuina, Luffy. She a friend of Zoro’s. She’s like me; we died before we could fulfill our dreams, but we have others that have promised to fulfill theirs for us.”

Luffy turns to look over his shoulder at Zoro’s sleeping form, eyes lingering on the white blade held securely in the swordsman’s grip. He grins, bright and wide, and the girls watch as his eyes flash silver, briefly lingering on the three souls, before turning back to the sea.

“I’m glad, Sabo,” he says, softly, so only they can hear him, “You’re not lonely, that’s good.”

Sabo chuckles as he removes their hands from his back. “Don’t worry, bro, I’m fine.

Luffy just giggles to himself and falls silent.

Sabo turns to his companions with a bright grin. Bellemere and Kuina trade looks before grinning themselves.

“Looks like this little adventure just got a lot more interesting,” Bellemere says with a chuckle.

* * *

 

He watches with mixed sadness and suppressed rage as Ace reacts to Thatch’s death. To his murder.

The Demon has lost another person close to his heart; one of the first of his new family that he let in. Sabo can see how it breaks him, how he shoves it away in a dark corner and takes off after the traitor. He lets Ace be; there will be no reaching him right now, no consoling him. But there is something else he can do for Ace.

It isn’t that hard for him; locating a soul if fairly easy. Especially when they’re new.

Sabo waits, looking down at the man that has become one of Ace’s nakama. One of his family. Sabo owes him. The man was relentless when Ace was avoiding the entire crew. But he didn’t let it deter him in any way. He had become one of those that he could check on anytime he wished; he had bonded with Ace.

He grins, it’s a sad grin, but a grin none the less. “He really loves you, Thatch.”

The man stirs and Sabo finds himself wondering if this is what it was like for Rouge when she waited with him.

Thatch opens his eyes, blinking a little at the sudden light. He lays there for a minute, trying to process what happened. He remembers being on watch and then Teach…ah. Teach. That’s right.

“Huh,” he says aloud. “So I guess I’m dead. That or this is a really weird dream.”

“Unfortunately, it’s the first one, my friend.”

Thatch turns and sees a young man sitting next to him. He looks to be about Ace’s age with a strong build. He’s wearing blue shorts, a white shirt, dark blue jacket, and a pair of boots. A top hat covers short blond hair.

“So is this the afterlife?”

The blond grins and Thatch sees the gap in his teeth. “Something like that,” he says, casually bringing his arms behind his head, “You’re lucky you formed a bond with my brother, or else you’d be a lot harder to find in this place.”

Thatch blinks. “Brother?”

Sabo laughs at Thatch’s confusion. “Sorry, sorry,” he says, “I got a bit ahead myself there.”

“You do that often, dear.”

Sabo turns to see Rouge walking over to them. “Mom! I do not!”

Rouge laughs at him. “Relax, sweetheart. It’s a family trait.”

Sabo crosses his arms over his chest and pouts like the child that he still very much is. Thatch watches them with a mildly amused expression.

“You’re supposed to introduce yourself first, dear,” Rouge says.

Sabo frowns. “You didn’t.”

She smiles. “Fair enough.” She turns to Thatch. “Pardon us, it’s a bit of a long standing argument.”

Thatch grins. “I can see that.”

“This is Sabo, you’ll have to excuse him. It’s the first time he’s ever greeted anyone.”

“It’s not like you gave me your name!” Sabo protests, “I had to ask for it!”

“Speaking of,” she says, “My name is Portgas D. Rouge.”

Thatch’s amusement is suddenly replaced with shock. “Portgas? As in…?”

Rouge smiles. “Thank you for taking care of Ace for me,” she says.

Sabo snorts. “Even though he makes it so freaking hard. Do you have any idea how much I have to guide him?” he whines.

Thatch grins a bit at that. “That he does. But he’s worth the effort.”

Sabo grins, wide and bright. “I knew I liked you for a reason.”

Rouge just chuckles at them.

“So…you’re Ace’s family?” Thatch clarifies.

Sabo beams. “Yup! He’s my brother. And, well, Mom is his mom.”

“Well it’s nice to meet you, I suppose,” Thatch says with an easy grin, “But I thought Ace only had one brother?”

Sabo just grins as Rouge answers. “Ace lives in the present,” she says, “He keeps the past locked inside.”

“Besides,” Sabo adds, “We died when he was really young, so he’s had time to deal with it. He likes to dwell though.”

Rouge sighs. “That’s just the way he is.”

“You mean stubborn?” Thatch asks with a raised eyebrow.

“He gets it from his father,” Rouge says.

“He gets it from his mother too.”

The three of them turn to see Roger walking towards them. Thatch grins. “Oh-ho! Well if it isn’t Roger!”

Roger laughs. “Thought it’d be ages before I saw any of Whitebeard’s men up here! But I guess that’s how life goes! Full of surprises!”

“What’re you doing here?” Sabo asks, “I thought you were partying with Tom?”

“And miss meeting my son’s nakama? Not a chance!”

“You’re being creepy again, Dad,” Sabo deadpans,” And it’s not like he’s going anywhere.”

Rouge laughs at them and Thatch chuckles along before the earlier comment finally sinks into his brain. “Wait a minute!” he exclaims, pointing an accusing finger at an amused Roger, “You’re Ace’s dad? You had a kid?!”

“Bwhahahahahahaha! World works in funny ways doesn’t it?” Roger says.

Thatch stares for a moment. “No wonder he’s so messed up,” he says dryly.

Sabo pats his shoulder. “If only you knew, my friend, if only you knew.”

“Sabo, what about Ace?” Rouge asks softly, “…How did he react?”

That calms the laughter and leaves the four of them a little somber. Sabo sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “It wasn’t…bad,” he says after a moment, “He didn’t…snap like he did when I died. But…I can’t reach him right now.”

“Hmmm, I suppose it’s as good as can be expected,” Rouge says.

Roger claps Thatch on the shoulder. “He really likes you, Thatchy-boy!”

Thatch sighs, expression guilty and a little sad. “It’s not like I made a conscious decision to go and die.”

“Meh,” Sabo says, waving him off, “It’s not that big a deal. Just means he’s going to be a pain in the ass to babysit for a while.”

“Such brotherly affection,” Roger teases.

“Shut up, Dad,” Sabo says before turning thoughtful, “Actually, Lu should be getting to the Grand Line soon. Maybe I can pull a few strings…”

“Luffy would do him some good,” Rouge says softly.

Sabo sighs and falls back with a dull thud. “If I wasn’t already dead, those two would be the death of me.”

“What’s family for, eh?” Thatch says with a grin. Roger laughs.

“Yeah, yeah,” Sabo says pushing himself up, “If he does something stupid, I’m blaming you Thatch.”

“Hey, Ace does what he wants, you should know that,” the man defends.

Sabo crosses his arms. “But I can’t hit Ace,” he says blankly.

“I’m sure you could if you put your mind to it,” Rouge says.

Roger barks a laugh. “Encouraging sibling violence now?”

Rouge shrugs and gives the men a coy smile. “Boys will be boys.”

* * *

 

“This actually worked out quicker than I expected it to,” Sabo says to Thatch as he watches Luffy tell his crew about Ace.

“Oh?”

Sabo just shrugs. He had figured out what route Luffy was taking and then followed the path to Ace. He left his brother a hint about where the Angel was heading and the Demon left a message in response. Of course Luffy never actually got that message, but they had ended up in the same place regardless.

Luck seems to be on their side as usual.

Sabo grins when Ace jumps aboard, taunting Luffy and then politely thanking the Angel’s crew for taking care of him. The blond still can’t believe that Ace asked Makino to teach him manners of all things, but it serves as a lesson that Luffy isn’t the only one that can be unpredictable.

Thatch looks thoughtful as he watches the brothers interact. “Ace looks…different,” he says.

Sabo blinks at that. “How so?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” Thatch replies with a shrug,” He just seems…happier. Freer.”

And Sabo grins then, like he knows something Thatch doesn’t and it leaves the older man curious. Before he can ask though, the surprised gasps of Luffy’s crew draw their attention. Thatch feels his jaw drop at the sight.

Luffy, Ace’s precious, innocent little brother, is kissing his older brother square on the mouth.

Next to him, Sabo grins.

“Finally!” the blond shouts, throwing both hands in the air and laughing when he sees Thatch’s stunned and confused expression. “You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this to happen. Years, Thatch, _years_. And Luffy kissed him first! Oh, Ace will never live this one down!”

And Thatch just shakes his head with a chuckle as he looks between Sabo and his living brothers; it’s clearly a family thing.

* * *

 

“Hmmmmm, so who won the bet, Bellemere?” Kuina asks.

The former marine grins. “Looks like me an’ Sabo won the pot!” she exclaims, turning to one of the newest members of their little ragtag group, “Sorry, Olvia!”

Sabo just rolls his eyes. “Honestly, was there ever any doubt?”

Olvia looks on at the event happening around them, both awed and confused. “I…I don’t understand…”

Hiruluk laughs while throwing an arm over the pale-haired woman’s shoulders. “My good woman, there is nothing to understand! It’s all about having a dream and the ambition to reach out and grab it!”

“Oh, look at my baby! He’s so brave,” Banchina says, watching the crew, “But this is so dangerous! What if they get hurt? Or scared? What if they die? Oh, this is bad! I have to help my baby!”

Before the woman can work herself into a frenzy, Bellemere is there, soothing the woman. Sabo chuckles; their little group is just as odd and strange as Luffy’s crew. A group of complete strangers, brought together by one person. It seems the Angel’s influence extends beyond the physical. The blond looks up to the giant behind him, watching the scene play out in front of them.

“Saul, you okay up there?” he calls.

“Derishishishishi!” the giant laughs, eyes wet, “My little Robin’s found her nakama!”

Below them, Robin screams out her wish to live. Sabo can see his brother’s knowing smirk, the growing smiles on his little brother’s nakama’s faces, the determination that radiates off of them. And he knows that Luffy has already decided the outcome of this battle.

Robin will live.

They will take her back and nothing will stop them from doing so.

Olvia collapses to her knees next to him, tears flowing down her face. Sabo smiles kindly at her. “It’s odd, isn’t?” he says, drawing the attention of the group, “How people flock to him.”

Tom takes a large swig from a bottle of sake that Sabo has no doubt the fishman swiped from Roger. “You’re little brother certainly has a spark!” he exclaims, clapping the blond on the back, “He knows how to do it with a DON!”

“Tom-san! Are you going to start coming on adventures with us too?” Kuina asks.

Banchina claps, having gotten over her anxiety. “Oh, that would be lovely! Think of the fun we could have!”

“So my little rascal’s gonna be part of the crew now?” Tom laughs, “What a grand idea!”

“I can see it now,” Hiruluk says dramatically, “Grand adventures! A magnificent ship! An unbreakable crew! The very dreams of men!”

Bellemere laughs. “Don’t forget the formidable foes!”

“The glorious battles! Derishishishi!” Saul throws in.

“The unbelievable victories!” Kuina cheers.

“And the island wide celebration afterwards,” Olvia adds, wiping her tears, grinning brightly.

Sabo just smirks at all of them. “All just a day in the life of the Straw Hat crew, eh?”

All of them raise a fist in the air, grinning that contagious grin and laughing like loons. “Here, here!”

* * *

 

Sabo smiles down at the little girl before him. She looks a little younger than Kuina, her face still round and childish where the young swordswoman is slimmer with the very beginnings of age. Her eyes are pure black and her slivery-white hair cascades down her back like a waterfall of loose, wavy curls. A pair of gray ram’s horns sit on her head.

“Hello, Merry,” he says to her, holding out one of his hands, “My name is Sabo.”

The girl blinks at the hand offered to her, not quite understanding why it’s there but suddenly realizing that she has hands too and can, for the first time, return the gesture. She slides a small, slender hand into his and her eyes go wide, a spark of excitement entering her eyes as she grins at him.

“I know you!” she says gleefully, “I’ve carried you! You’re Captain’s brother!”

Sabo grins and pulls the ship-turned-little-girl to her feet. “That’s right! And I need to thank you for taking such good care of him,” he says with a tip of his hat.

Merry blushes and fiddles with her hair, shyly scuffing her foot back and forth. “Oh, well, I didn’t do much of anything…”

“Nonsense,” Sabo says, “You took care of them and they are very thankful.” Merry grins up at him, a pleased blush covering her cheeks. “Do you want to meet everyone?” he asks.

Merry nods. “Yes, please!”

“You’re still part of the crew, Merry. Nakama are forever, you know.”

“And I can watch over Captain and the others from here!”

Sabo grins down at her and she smiles back. “That’s right,” he says, tightening his hold on her hand reassuringly before leading her forward, “Now, we have a party to go to! Robin is safe and sound and we’re getting a new nakama soon!”

Merry skips along next to him, swinging their hands back and forth, and cheers.

* * *

 

“Goddamnit, Ace! You just had to let your temper get the better of you! Arugh! You always think with you anger! Would it kill you to use your head once in a while?!” Sabo rages at his brother.

His brother who has lost. His brother who has failed. His brother who is chained and bound, beaten and bloody. His brother who is in a cage. His brother who is ready to die.

Sabo deflates and fall to his knees in front of Ace’s still form. The Demon’s eyes are closed, his breathing shallow. If Sabo didn’t know any better, he’d say the man was asleep. But Sabo does know better and he sees the lines of tension that run under Ace’s skin. The blond sighs and reaches out to cup a bloody check. The Demon stiffens before all of the tension drains out of his body and he leans into the touch.

“Sorry,” Ace whispers, his voice hoarse and cracked.

Sabo bites his lips. He can’t say anything, any words he can think of are lodged in his throat and refuse to make it to his tongue. Fear bubbles up in his stomach. Sabo knows what will happen when Ace leaves this place. And Ace has already accepted it. And who knows what the hell Luffy’s thinking, or if he even knows; Sabo has been too scared to leave to check on his other brother. Something might happen to Ace if he leaves. He can’t bear the thought. So he makes himself watch as Ace is tortured for the sick enjoyment of the guards in this godforsaken prison, because really, they have no reason to do so; Ace has already been sentenced, and the guards are not trying to get information. And when they finish and drag Ace back to his cell and shackle him to the wall, Sabo kneels next to him and makes sure that Ace is still breathing. That he keeps breathing.

Because despite the sickening fear and worry that is tearing his insides to shreds, he knows there is still a sliver of hope. Whitebeard won’t just let one of his son’s die. And if Luffy has found out, Sabo has no doubt that the Angel will do everything in his power to stop it.

So he stays with Ace, watches over him as he sleeps in hell and makes sure he keeps breathing.

Because Ace deserves to live.

Because Ace will live.

And Sabo just needs to believe it.

* * *

 

When Whitebeard opens his eyes, he’s met with the sight of his late son and rival grinning at him.

“Hiya, Oyaji!” Thatch chirps with a wave.

Roger just laughs. “So you finally kicked the bucket, eh old man?”

Whitebeard sits up with a snort. “It’s you and your lots fault in the first place,” he grunts, “And it was a pretty damn good death too! Better than dying in my sleep in some bed.”

“Bwhahahaha! You were getting there, weren’t you!”

Thatch chuckles and shakes his head. “I’ve had to deal with him for the past few months,” he complains to his captain, “I don’t know how you dealt with him.”

“Gurarararara! Years of practice, lad!”

Roger grins. “Come have a drink, Whitebeard! You can tell me about my son!”

“That brat? He’s a handful. Takes a bit after you, ya know. Never runs from a fight. Gets him in trouble too.”

“He knows,” Thatch says dryly, “I’ve made sure to tell him.”

Both captains laugh at him. Before anything else can be said or any drinks can be found, an enraged, heartbroken scream echoes from the trees behind them. Roger sighs, his smile fading some. “Suppose I should go take care of that first.”

Thatch stares at the tree line, stunned. “Was that…Sabo?”

Whitebeard looks on curiously and follows the two toward the sound. “Sabo?” he asks.

“Ace’s brother,” Thatch answers, “Apparently, he had another one. Died when Ace was real young though.”

When they reach the end of the clearing, little Merry is there, shifting nervously, eyes wide with worry. The clearing is a complete mess, especially considering it didn’t used to be a clearing. Trees have been knocked to the ground, ripped out at the roots, leaving crater sized holes. Merry turns at the sound of their approach and the three can see that she’s been crying. She surges forward and latches onto Roger’s hand.

“Roger,” she says and she’s trembling, voice creaking with worry as crystalline tears slide down her cheeks, “C-Captain…Captain and Ace…! And now Sabo!”

Roger reaches out and ruffles the little girl’s hair. “I know,” he says, “It’ll be okay.”

Merry lets him go and rings hands together, taking a deep breath to calm herself. “Okay,” she says, “Okay.” She turns and sees the other two and offers them a small smile. “Hello, Thatch. Hello, Whitebeard-san.”

“Hey, Merry,” Thatch offers in greeting, turning to Whitebeard to say, “Oyaji, this is Merry. She was Straw Hat Luffy’s first ship.”

Whitebeard raises and eyebrow. “That brat? His ship you say?”

Merry nods. “I couldn’t carry them anymore, so Captain saw me off.”

“Well then,” the giant man says, “It is nice to meet you, Merry.”

The little girl grins up at him as Roger walks out into the clearing.

“Oi, Sabo!” he calls, “How long you gonna keep this temper-tantrum up?”

And Sabo is suddenly there, standing right in front of the former Pirate King, face a mask of anger and pain as tears slide down his face.

“Shut up!” He roars and Thatch stares, because he’s never seen Sabo like this. The blond is always so calm and polite. But this. He seems broken. And with everything that’s happened, he probably is. “How can you be so fucking calm?! That damn Admiral bastard almost killed Ace! Could have killed Ace! We don’t even know if he’s going to make it! And he took Luffy’s wings! That bastard completely fried them! He’ll be lucky if he can get them to move after this!”

“Battles come with wounds, Sabo,” Roger says.

Sabo glares at him, mouth open, ready to yell and scream and shout and blame, when slender hands place themselves over his eyes from behind.

“That’s enough, Sabo,” Rouge says, “Don’t blame Roger for this. It’s not his fault. You know that. It’s not his fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not Ace’s fault. It’s not Luffy’s fault. Do you remember what Dadan told Ace when you died? It was the world that killed you. It’s the state of the world that led to the tragedies of Marineford. Don’t place blame in your grief.”

And then Sabo collapses to his knees, a strangled scream of sorrow ripping itself from his throat as he’s consumed by sobs, finally breaking down, releasing all of the built up anger and fear and frustration and pain that he’s been locking away since Ace’s defeat at Teach’s hands. And suddenly he’s his ten year old self again, his form tiny and breakable as he curls into the ground. Rouge scoops him up and cradles him in her arms, letting him bury his face in her neck as he screams.

Thatch stares at Sabo’s new form, eyes wide. “What just happened?”

Roger glances over at him. “Hm? Oh. That. When you first arrive here, you are in the physical form you had when you died. But as this is a world based on thought, one can choose to change that form. Sabo chose to age with his brothers.”

“Wait. So you’re saying when Sabo died, he was…?

“A ten year old? Yes.” Roger looks at Thatch with a grim grin and Whitebeard gives a knowing sigh. “The world is a cruel place, Thatchy-boy.”

Rouge sighs as Sabo’s cries finally slow to a stop. “I shouldn’t have let him,” she says softly, eyes wet, “I should have made him leave.”

“What’s that Rouge?” Roger asks.

“Sabo stayed with Ace after that bad man captured him,” Merry says quietly, “He asked me to keep an eye on Captain ‘cause he didn’t want to leave Ace.”

Rouge’s lips tremble as she runs a hand through her son’s blond curls. “He said he had to make sure Ace kept breathing,” she whispers, eyes overflowing, “He stayed with my baby in that awful, godforsaken place! I shouldn’t have let him, he’s just a child! I should have taken his place! Oh, my poor children!” She holds the boy in her arms tighter and Roger carefully wraps his arms around both of them.

“He stayed with Ace?” Thatch says. “That means…”

“That he saw everything that was done to him in that hellhole,” Whitebeard finishes grimly, looking down at the child in Rogue’s arms.

Everything is silent for a long moment before Whitebeard speaks. “You lot are depressing,” the former Yonko says, “They ain’t dead so stop sulking!”

That startles a laugh from Rouge and Roger is already grinning. A little sigh from Rouge’s shoulder lets them know that Sabo is, in fact, awake.

“Yeah, yeah,” he says, his voice higher in pitch now, the voice of a child, “You lot can go be happy and what not, I’ll just get stuck dealing with two depressed idiots.”

Roger laughs and claps the boy on the back. “That’s the spirit, son!”

“Dad, you’re an idiot,” Sabo deadpans, raising his head from Rouge’s neck, “What the hell do you mean spirit? Ace is gonna be all screwed up because his dad went and died,” he says gesturing at Whitebeard, “And then Lu’s gonna be all screwed up because he probably thinks Ace went and died on him after that idiot promised him not to! What kind of moron promises not to die?!”

“Your brothers,” Rogue and Roger deadpan.

Sabo groans. “You’re all insane.”

“But that’s what makes Captain interesting, Sabo!” Merry pipes up.

Thatch grins. “Normal is boring. But you knew that already.”

Whitebeard just laughs.

Sabo sighs. “The things I do for my family.”

* * *

 

“Sabo!”

Said blond, now a young man again, turns away from Rouge and Thatch, to see Kuina running towards him, Olvia and Yorki walking behind her. Roger and Whitebeard are either too caught up in their reminiscing or ignoring the new arrivals.

Kuina skids to a stop in front of him, panting a huge grin on her face. “You’ll never guess!” she says.

Sabo blinks for a moment before sighing. “What did Luffy do this time?”

Yorki grins, clapping him on the shoulder. “That brother of yours! Man! I like his style! I wish I could have seen the Marine’s faces!” he laughs.

Kuina is practically bouncing in place as Olvia sits down across from him, Rouge and Thatch showing the same confusion he is. Olvia hands him a newspaper – or at least a copy of one that she probably made – with a grin.

“This should explain things,” she says.

Sabo raises an eyebrow and takes the offered paper, Rouge and Thatch leaning over his shoulders to see what all the fuss is about. The blond’s grin grows wider with every word and by the end of the article, he’s laughing like a madman. Rouge and Thatch are grinning on either side of him, the other three matching those grins.

“Oi, Dad! Whitebeard!” Sabo calls, tossing them the paper.

Soon enough, Roger is laughing too and Whitebeard’s smirking at the paper in his hand.

“That cheeky little brat,” he says.

Sabo grins. “The best part is that the Marines have no clue what he’s doing!”

“Eh? What do you mean, Sabo?” Thatch asks.

Yorki laughs. “My good man, I haven’t been with the crew very long and even I know that this is out of character for the kid.”

“It’s a message,” Olvia says calmly.

“Yeah! The crew is going to train for two years before heading to New World!” Kuina adds.

“While at the same time giving the Marines a good kick in the face,” Roger adds gleefully, “Oh Ray, you sly old dog, you. I’d recognize your work anywhere,” he says, throwing his head back and laughing.

“Rayleigh, huh?” Whitebeard says with a grin, “Seems like everyone’s putting their money on this kid to be your successor, Roger.”

The former Pirate King just grins that wide grin of his. “It’s the damnedest thing, isn’t it?”

“It’s not like he needs anyone’s approval,” Sabo says.

Yorki snorts. “Kid’d probably just do it anyway.”

Olvia and Kuina smile at him and Sabo shoots him a daring grin. “Yorki,” he says, “You’re going to fit in just fine.”

“And in all of the excitement,” Rouge says softly, having picked up the paper when no one was looking, deep brown eyes looking lovingly at the picture of the straw hat wearing teen she considers her third son, “A new age begins.”

* * *

 

Sabo watches his brothers as they fly through the air, chasing each other and laughing like children. He grins, a weight leaving him now that the two have finally seen each other again. Now that they know the other is still alive, still safe, still in one piece. He laughs at Ace’s nakama when they don’t know how to deal with the pair. Luffy’s nakama have, by this point, become accustomed to their captain’s strange ways and while they are still surprised from time to time, it’s easier for them to shrug it off and face whatever it is with a resigned acceptance. Because Luffy always gets his way. Unfortunately, the only exposure Ace’s nakama have had to the rubber teen was back during the War. Which means they were somewhat distracted by other things to notice any of Luffy’s oddities besides his sheer determination and will power.

So Sabo gets a good kick out of watching them gape like fish and listens half-heartedly as both crews trade stories while the Angel and Demon circle above them. When his brothers return to the ship and collapse on the figurehead, breathless with laughter, he smiles at the happiness that radiates off them. He sits with them, content; it’s been a while since the three of them have been in the same place, so to speak.

"Ne, Ace?" Luffy says softly, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think Sabo is happy right now?" The Angel reaches a hand out, fingers straining towards the first stars of night.

Sabo grins softly. He’s noticed how often Luffy asks Ace that question. Noticed Ace’s hesitance to give a real answer out of fear he might be wrong. And Sabo knows that this is because of his death, because of the choice he made to return to his noble parents and leave them behind. That choice and the results of that choice have left his brothers scarred. And he knows it.

But, this time, Ace smiles at the question. A soft, loving smile, one that rarely shows on his face and when it does, it’s usually for Luffy. "I think so," he says softly, raising his hand as well, "We're happy. I think that makes Sabo happy. Right, Sabo?"

Sabo’s grin widens and he slips his hands into his brothers’, giving each a warm, reassuring squeeze. Their fingers close around his, squeezing back, before the moment is gone and they are separated again. Both the Angel and Demon smile.

"Yeah," Ace says, "He's definitely happy."

And Sabo grins.

Because he really is.


	7. Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was written after it became canon that Sabo is alive. Enjoy.

_A piece that was thought lost is returned._

* * *

 

Luffy isn’t sure what to feel.

Sabo is _alive_.

Has been alive this entire time. Is he supposed to be angry? Happy? He doesn’t know. All he does know is that the part of him that has felt broken all this time is finally fixed. And after that he doesn’t really have time to think about it because he has to go rescue Law and fight that Mingo guy. So he shoves thoughts of Sabo away despite how much he wants to cling to them because now is not the time.

The time comes much later, after he and Law have kicked Mingo’s pink, feathery ass. Of course, Luffy is completely exhausted after that and passes out promptly after the fight is over. He stays unconscious for four days. And when he wakes, his first thoughts – much to the surprise of his crew – are of Sabo, not meat.

No one really knows why Luffy wants to see Sabo. As far as they know, he’s one of the people Robin stayed with during their two year separation. But Zoro calmly points out that Sabo and his friends have been staying on the ship for the past three days in between cleaning up Doflamingo’s mess when Luffy starts to get a little to frantic.

Luffy promptly goes up to the crow’s nest despite Chopper’s protests. He wants to see Sabo. But before that, he wants to figure out what he’s supposed to feel. Part of him is angry. Angry because he and Ace had thought Sabo was dead. They had _felt_ his death. It was a big, gaping hole in their chests that never closed even thought so much time had passed. He’s angry because Sabo never tried to tell them that he wasn’t dead. He never reached out to them. But to be fair, Ace and Luffy never reach out for each other either. And there were two whole years where Luffy thought he had failed Ace and that Ace had died at Marineford. And if he can forgive Ace, shouldn’t he forgive Sabo?

Yes, he should.

It doesn’t make the anger go away, not completely. But Luffy stops caring about it. Because another part of him, a part of him that is so much larger, is so very happy. Happy and relieved and complete. Because he feels whole again for the first time since he was seven.

“Ah, welcome back!”

Robin’s voice snaps him out of this thoughts and his eyes zero in on the three figures that just stepped onto Sunny. He doesn’t know two of them. But the third.

“SABO!”

Sabo has no time to react before Luffy has catapulted himself into his lost-but-found brother. He hears Sabo’s two companions shouting in surprise and Robin’s amused laughter, but he pays it no mind. All he cares about is the body underneath him. He presses his face into Sabo’s chest and relaxes when that familiar beat fills his ears.

“Luffy,” Sabo wheezes, “Can’t…breathe!”

Luffy blinks up at him, trying to see through the tears gathering in his eyes and making his vision hazy. “Ah. Sorry,” he says and loosens his hold.

Sabo sighs in relief and sits up, maneuvering Luffy so that the Angel is sitting in his lap, before wrapping his arms around the younger boy.

“Hi, Lu,” the blond says, grinning down at him.

Luffy stares at him for a long moment, both of them ignoring the tears streaming down the Angel’s face.

“Stupid Sabo,” Luffy mumbles before leaning up and pressing his lips to his brother’s.

He feels Sabo freeze, hears more than two exclamations of shock this time, but he doesn’t care. He has Sabo _back_. Sabo who is their Star. Sure, he has Zoro. And he knows that Ace has a Star on his crew as well. But Sabo has always been _their_ Star.

He pulls back and giggles at the surprised expression on Sabo’s face. To his credit, the blond just blinks.

“Well, alright,” he says, shrugging and leaning in to give Luffy a quick peck.

“Sabo!”

They both turn to see Sabo’s friends – and Luffy’s crew – staring at them in open shock. The woman Sabo came with is bright red and peeking through her fingers.

“Oh. Hey, Koala,” Sabo says simply with a grin.

“Don’t ‘hey’ me!” She yells, “I thought he was your brother!”

Sabo blinks and tilts his head, confused. “He is.”

Luffy just giggles as his crew sighs.

“Great there’s another one,” Ussop says, running a hand over his face and Brook “Yohohohs” in the background.

“So what do you transform into?” Nami asks, resigned, “A half Angel, half Demon?”

Sabo just grins at her while Luffy laughs.

“Don’t be silly, Nami,” the Angel says, “Sabo is our Star!”

Robin’s eyes light with interest and Zoro looks contemplative while everyone else just looks confused.

“Am I?” Sabo asks, face falling slightly, “You already have a Star.”

Luffy turns back to Sabo and frowns. “Well yeah,” he says, “Zoro is _my_ Star. But you’re _our_ Star.”

“You’ve got your work cut out for you,” Zoro says, walking over and clapping Sabo on the shoulder, “It’s hard enough with only one of them.”

Luffy pouts. “Zorooooo,” he whines.

Sabo chuckles. “You’re probably ten times worse than when you were a kid, aren’t you?”

Luffy’s cheeks puff out and he crosses his arms over his chest stubbornly as he turns away from them. “Meeeeeean.”

Sabo just smiles and pulls Luffy closer.

* * *

 

Luffy insists that Sabo stay with them for a while. Sabo agrees, not wanting to be parted from his brother so soon after seeing him. Koala and Hack head back to headquarters without him, thought they make him promise to return soon. Sabo just waves them away – he knows Dragon will understand.

It’s nice to be around his little brother again. Luffy is just as lively and crazy as ever and Sabo can’t believe he lived without this for twelve years. Things on the ship are relatively calm. At least as calm as things can get when the ship is Luffy’s. Sabo gets to know his brother’s crew and is glad that Luffy has found such reliable nakama. They match Robin’s stories perfectly, quirks and all.

It isn’t until he’s spent a week on the Thousand Sunny that Luffy suddenly whoops, wraps his rubbery arms around the blond, and takes off.

“Luffy!” he yells, unsure if he is angry or pleased.

The Angel just laughs, silver eyes bright, as he flies through the air.

“You could have warned me,” Sabo grumbles.

“Nope. Not as fun that way,” Luffy says, “Besides, I’m strong enough to hold you on my own now.”

Sabo can’t help but smile at the Angel. When they were kids, it was usually Ace who carried him whenever they went flying as Luffy was still growing into his wings and hadn’t quite worked out how to fly properly yet. But here he is, carrying Sabo through the sky, laughter spilling from his lips.

He’s grown.

He’s grown so much without Sabo there to see it. And while part of Sabo aches over that fact, another part of him is so fiercely proud, he thinks he might burst.

“Where are we going, Luffy?” Sabo asks over the wind when he notices Luffy flying away from the Sunny.

But Luffy just grins at him and holds him a little tighter and Sabo knows he has something planned but is going to tell him absolutely nothing. So he decides to let it go and enjoy the flight.

At least until he sees the Moby Dick on the horizon. His eyes widen and his stomach flips and his heart aches. Ace. He hadn’t been there for the Demon either. And now he apparently has to face his brother’s chosen crew.

“Luffy?” he asks, hoping that none of his trepidation is showing in his voice.

But he knows he failed when Luffy gives him a soft, knowing smile. “It’ll be fine,” he says as he touches down on the deck.

Those present call out greetings and Sabo is left with the feeling that this is a regular thing. Through all of the hustle and bustle of the crew and his own nerves, Sabo doesn’t notice Ace until he’s right in front of him. Logically, he knows that Ace has grown. It’s been years and he’s even seen pictures – Ace’s wanted poster, news articles of his various escapades, his televised execution (he tries not to think too much about that last one). But it something very different to see it in person.

The Demon grins as he pulls Luffy into his arms and gives him a strong squeeze. Sabo tries – and fails – not to stare at the twisted scar that covers his brother’s chest and back, tries not to think about how it got there and what it almost meant.

“Who’s your friend, Lu?”

Ace’s voice snaps him out of his daze and Luffy beams at him. So he buries his nerves and puts a smile on his face reaching up to take off his hat. “What, you don’t recognize me?” he teases, “I know it’s been a while, but still, that hurts, Ace.”

Ace stills and his eyes go wide. His throat closes and his lips try to form words even though he has no idea what to say. Sabo knows what’s going to happen precious seconds before it does, but he does nothing to prevent it. Ace doesn’t disappoint and his fist collides with Sabo’s jaw.

“Ace!” Luffy yells as Sabo collapses in a heap on the deck. The crew have all stopped at this point to stare at the scene before them.

Ace pays attention to none of them. He grabs Sabo by the collar and hauls him up and crushes him to his chest. Sabo is frozen for a moment, still reeling a little from the shock of being hit, before smiling softly and wrapping his arms around his brother.

“You…idiot,” Ace chokes into his shoulder.

Sabo chuckles, eyes glassy. “Are you crying Ace?” he teases, as if he isn’t seconds from crying himself.

“Shut up, you bastard,” Ace says, holding him tighter, “I’m still mad at you.”

Sabo just grins. “I know.”

Luffy, not one to be left out, tackles them both to the deck with a laugh and then they’re all a tangle of limbs and muffled curses.

“Damnit, Lu!” Ace yells.

“Shishishi!”

Sabo shares a look with the Angel and they both grin. The blond reaches up and grabs a fistful of Ace’s hair, dragging the Demon’s lips down to his. Ace goes completely still in shock even as Sabo pulls away.

“There,” Sabo says smugly as Luffy laughs, “Now you don’t have to be jealous.”

Ace splutters. “J-jealous?!”

“Don’t worry, Ace!” Luffy chirps, hooking his chin over Sabo’s shoulder so he can look at Ace directly, “We can share!”

“Share?!”

“Saaaa, I think we broke him, Lu,” Sabo says as he watches a multitude of emotions flash across Ace’s face.

Luffy blinks and starts poking Ace cheek. “Ace? You broken?”

Sabo just chuckles and settles into place between his brothers.

The three of them continue on, completely oblivious to their surroundings.

“Uh…Captain Marco?”

“Just leave them be. They’ll be a while.”


	8. Blessed

_He has been touched by both light and dark._

* * *

 

“Coby! Where are you going?!”

Coby glances over his shoulder to see Helmeppo running towards him. He stops and waits for his friend to catch up to him, giving him as smile as he reaches him.

“Good morning, Helmeppo-san!” he greets cheerily.

“Where are you going?” Helmeppo repeats as he catches his breath, “And why are you dressed like that?”

Coby looks down at his clothes. He’s out of uniform, wearing a pair of simple navy blue slacks and a white t-shirt with the marine symbol printed on the front. Helmeppo is dressed in his uniform.

“It’s my day off, Helmeppo-san,” he says with a smile.

“I knew that!” Helmeppo cries.

Coby tilts his head to the side. “Then what’s the problem?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know!” Helmeppo exclaims, “You’ve got that look on your face!”

“…that look?”

“Yes! That one! Right there! The one that means you’re up to something!”

Coby just smiles innocently at his friend. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh,” Helmeppo says dryly.

“I’m just going into town for the day. I’ll be back at the ship by nightfall,” he says, “I promise.”

Helmeppo stares at him for a long time. “Fine,” he relents after a moment, “But stay out of trouble!”

Coby grins. “I will!”

* * *

 

Alright, so maybe he wouldn’t. But it isn’t necessarily trouble, and what Helmeppo doesn’t know, won’t hurt him.

Cody nods to himself as he ties off his little boat and begins to scale up the side of the much bigger ship. He’s noticed it, ever since Marineford. Two steady pulses in his chest, like heartbeats. And he remembers what Garp had said before leaving. About the Demon and the Angel and their blessings. He didn’t say much, but it’s enough to make Coby hopeful that the two pirates are alive and well. Even though he supposes that he should be hoping for the opposite. But Luffy is his friend for all they are enemies as well and Ace is Luffy’s brother.

So he wants them to be okay even if he shouldn’t.

But no one has heard any news on them since they disappeared from Marineford. Luffy made that appearance about two weeks after the battle, and Coby had been overjoyed to see his friend safe and alive. But the young pirate had disappeared shortly after that and hasn’t been seen since. Ace was presumed dead. The newspapers stated that he had died shortly after Admiral Akainu’s attack. But Coby knows this is not true. It is blurry, yes, but he remembers the wings that wrapped around him protectively, the sad smile, the warm blood on his forehead. He remembers all of that and knows that Ace didn’t die where the marines say he did.

And when he felt the tug in his chest this morning before the sun even peaked over the horizon, Coby knows that he is close. He can’t explain it should anyone try to ask, but he needs to see for himself.

Which is how he ends up here. Climbing up the side of the Whitebeard pirates’ ship like it is a regular thing.

Part of him is wondering where he’s gotten the courage to do this. But has he climbs over the rail and his feet touch the deck, he remembers Luffy’s faith in his impossible dream and Ace’s belief in his ability to watch over everything and thinks that maybe, some things aren’t so impossible after all.

So when he turns to face the frowning pirates, he smiles sheepishly.

“Sorry for the intrusion,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck.

“And what could a marine possibly want on a pirate ship?” drawls the blond in the front with his arms crossed over his chest and holy crap that’s Marco the Phoenix.

Coby looks around the deck, sees the glares and the caution, before turning back to Marco. “I’m not here as a Marine,” he says clearly and calmly.

He raises an eyebrow. “Oh? Then what are you here as?”

Coby shrugs. “I’m not sure,” he says, because he doesn’t really know Ace, not like he does Luffy, “I would like to think I’m a friend.”

The pirates around him scoff and he can practically hear what they’re all thinking.

_A marine? Friends with a pirate? After everything that’s happened? Yeah right._

And yet Luffy manages it no problem.

The look Marco gives him is an assessing one. “And what is it you want?”

Coby stands up straight and makes sure to look Marco straight in the eye. “I want to talk to Ace.”

The pirate crew freezes. Coby can feel the tension in the air and does his best to ignore it. He’s not fearless, despite everything that Garp has managed to beat into him. And he’s not stupid enough to believe that he could take ten people on this ship let alone the entire crew. But he still feels like this is right. Somewhere deep in his heart, he knows that being here is right.

“Ace died at Marineford,” Marco said coldly.

“We both know that’s a lie,” Coby says softly as the tension in the air grows, “I just want to talk to him.”

“Yeah right!” someone from the crowd calls, “Marines don’t _talk_ with pirates! You must think we’re all idiots.”

The shout seems to make the others come alive; they start jeering and shouting at him. Coby forces himself not to listen and keep his eyes on Marco, who seems to be the only thing standing between him and the angry crew. He tries to imagine what Luffy would do, tries to feel brave like Luffy makes him feel even when they’re on opposite sides of a battle. He ignores the trembling in his hands that has already become too much for him to stop. He knows this is dangerous, but it is also right. So it’s okay to be scared as long as he stays brave.

“Stop it, you guys,” a voice cuts through the enraged yells, “He’s not an enemy.”

Coby’s eyes snap away from Marco to the man that’s just stepped in front of him. There’s a big, twisted scar on his chest, but his eyes are bright and alive.

Coby grins and before his realizes what he’s doing, he’s wrapping his arms around the pirate.

“ACE-SAN!”

The man stiffens briefly in his hold and Coby’s actions catch up with him. He has about ten seconds to feel absolutely mortified before he hears a light chuckle and arms come up to wrap around him in return.

“So impulsive,” the older man whispers into his hair.

Coby chuckles sheepishly. “I may have spent too much time around Luffy-san. And Garp-san. He was my teacher, you know.”

Ace snorts and pulls back, keeping his hands on Coby’s shoulders and looking at him with fond eyes. “I knew we picked right.”

Coby can feel the heat in his cheeks and knows he’s turning all kinds of red right now. “I’m trying,” he says modestly.

“Ace?”

They both turn to see Marco and several of the other Whitebeard commanders watching them cautiously.

Ace just smiles. “It’s fine,” he says, “He’s one of my brother’s friends.”

“Your brother is _friends_ with _marines_?” asks a pirate who Coby is pretty certain is Diamond Jozu.

Ace just shrugs. “Luffy is Luffy.”

Coby snorts and then attempts to cover it with a cough. But Ace is smiling at him in a way that says he knows exactly what he is thinking.

Marco looks between the two of them for a long moment. Eventually he just sighs and nods his head towards a door before turning the crew back to their duties. Ace drapes an arm over his shoulders and steers him towards the door and down the hall behind it to a room that looks a bit like a conference room with a large table in the middle.

Ace pushes him gently into one of the chairs, sitting down next to him, watching him with curious eyes. “So why’d you come?”

Coby is quiet for a long moment as he stares down at his hands. “I guess…I just wanted to see if you were real,” he says haltingly, peaking up into Ace’s eyes.

“See if I was real?” Ace echoes with a raised eyebrow.

Coby shrugs helplessly. “It’s just, this morning, I woke up with a, a feeling in my chest, and I know it sounds ridiculous, but I knew it was _you_ but I wanted to make sure because otherwise it just seemed kinda impossible – I mean how the heck am I supposed to know something like _that_? – but the feeling didn’t go away and following it felt right and –”

His rambling is cut off by Ace’s sudden laughter. Coby knows he’s blushing again and apologizes for rambling as soon as Ace calms down.

The pirate waves it away with a smile. “You listened,” he says, “That’s good. Most people wouldn’t.”

“So…the feeling is you?” Coby asks slowly, “Because it feels sorta like a heartbeat. And there’s another one. Is that…?”

Ace nods. “What we did, it created a connection between us,” he explains, “Being connected to both of us makes it stronger.”

Coby puts a hand on his chest. “I see. It wasn’t this strong before, when it was only Luffy-san. I think I felt it a little, but I wasn’t really sure…”

Ace sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “It’s kinda complicated and the meanings change all the time. But I suppose…” he trails off for a moment, eyes lost in thought, “Luffy’s mark on you meant hope,” he said softly, eyes serious.

Coby blinks at that. And then he blushes. Hard. Because, holy crap, Luffy believes in him _that much_? He sits there for a moment, mouth opening and closing like a fish, only managing to get out a high pitched squeak in response.

Ace chuckles. “I don’t know you as well as Luffy,” he says, “But I’ve seen enough to know that you have a good heart – more than most people do. You have a strong sense of right and wrong, but you know that not everything is as black and white as some would like you to believe.”

Coby frowns, calming down enough to form coherent words. “I used too,” he admits, “Think in black and white, I mean. I thought that marines meant good guys and pirates meant bad guys.”

Ace tilts his head curiously, an unreadable glint in his eyes. “What changed?”

Coby shrugs and gives him a lopsided grin. “Luffy-san.”

Ace grins in return. “That sounds about right.”

Coby chuckles. “It’s definitely a talent of his,” he says, smile diming slightly. He stands suddenly, startling Ace as he snaps to attention and bows low. “I would like to apologize for how the marines handled your execution, Ace-san.”

Ace sits there for a moment blinking rapidly. “You really are odd,” he says after a moment with a slight smile.

Coby’s cheeks are pink as he sits back down. “Well I thought someone should say it,” he mumbles, “It’s not like you were being punished for the right reasons anyway. And then they had to make it a _show_. It was poorly handled.”

Ace’s smile grows with every word. “I can see why he picked you.”

Coby blinked, coming back to himself and leaving the memories behind. “Huh?”

Ace just shakes his head and smiles.  “Nothing,” he says, “So tell me, how did you meet Lu?”

Coby chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. “Well, it’s actually a funny story…”

And Coby tells him about Alvida’s pirate ship and Luffy exploding out of a barrel and then kicking her fat ass to the other side of the East Blue. He tells him about their dreams and arriving at Shell Town and meeting Zoro. He tells him about standing up to the marines and the little girl named Rika and that jerk Captain Morgan. He tells him about joining the marines and even about meeting Garp.

For his part, Ace smiles and laughs along with the story in all the right parts – sleeping in a barrel is definitely something he would do and calling a woman fat to her face sounds just like him (Luffy never had any tact.). He grimaces in sympathy when he gets to Garp and his training.

“Does he ever use doors?” Coby asks, “He’s always smashing through walls…”

Ace shrugs. “It’s cooler that way.”

Coby stares at him. “No offence, Ace-san, but your family is kinda crazy…”

Ace just grins at him.

* * *

 

It’s time for Coby to leave even though a part of him doesn’t want to. Still, he promised Helmeppo that he would be back by nightfall and if he wants to keep that promise, he has to leave now.

Ace’s crew is still giving him cautious even hateful looks and Coby honestly can’t blame them. Some of them though, look more curious than anything else. Ace sticks with him to make sure no one hassles him, staying calm and cheerful despite the tension in the air.

Marco walks up to them, face contemplative, just before Coby climbs over the rail.

“Are you sure about this?” he asks Ace, eyeing Coby suspiciously,” He’s a marine.”

Coby frowns and draws himself up, suddenly offended by the implications behind the pirate’s words even if he can understand them. “I’m not going to tell anyone!” he blurts out furiously without thinking.

And then like always, his brain catches up with his mouth and he realizes that he just mouthed off to _Marco the Phoenix_ and holy shit he’s going to die. But then Ace is laughing and clapping him on the shoulder and Marco is not killing him, just staring at him as he stammers out apologies and tries to force the blush off his cheeks.

“Nah, he’s fine,” Ace says, grinning, “He’s one of Luffy’s.”

“Doesn’t that mean that I’m technically one of yours too?” he mumbles and Ace’s grin widens.

“See?” he tells Marco, almost smugly.

Marco rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

Ace ruffles his hair even as Coby squawks in protest and bats his hands away. “Make us proud, Coby,” he murmurs softly, for his ears only.

Coby ducks his head and nods shyly, giving Ace one last, small smile before climbing back down to his boat.

* * *

 

“Coby!”

“What? I’m back right when I promised I’d be!”

“What did you do?”

“Helmeppo-san, you worry too much. I didn’t do anything; just went to visit a friend.”

“We have only been on this island for three days.”

“I can’t make friends in three days?”

“No!”

“You’re being silly, Helmeppo-san.”

“…You’ve hung around Strawhat too much, you know that?”

“I have no idea what you mean.”

“That smile says otherwise. What did you do?”

“Nothing~”


	9. Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place immediately following "Alive".

_They show a burden bore. But most of all, they show a life lived._

* * *

 

As soon as Ace comes to his senses, he hauls up his brothers, grabbing Luffy with one hand and Sabo with the other, and drags them below deck to his room. He ignores the way the younger two spend the whole time snickering at him and tosses them both into his room before shutting the door.

“Come on, Ace,” Sabo says as he picks himself up off the floor, “Don’t be mad.”

“I’ll do what I want,” Ace grumbles as he pulls up a grinning Luffy, who just laughs.

Sabo just smiles as his brothers start playfully shoving each other, Luffy still giggling while Ace is trying – and failing – to hold onto his annoyance. He’s missed this. Missed them. He’s glad that they’re all in one place again, but part of him is still so heartbreakingly guilty that he missed so much, that he spent so many years away from them. And when he looks at his brothers and sees the scars on their chests, large and painful and deadly, that guilt only grows.

“Sabo?”

And then Ace is in front of him, brow furrowed and Sabo doesn’t like the way worry swims in his brown eyes because Ace deserves better than to constantly be worried and angry and sad the way he was when they were kids. Still, he supposes it’s a valid question. He’s been quiet too long and he isn’t entirely sure what expression his face is making.

“I’m fine,” he says, voice too soft and the look Ace is giving him clearly says he doesn’t believe him.

“It’s okay not to be Sabo,” Luffy says behind him and Sabo feels the Angel press close to his back, hands on his hips.

“I’m…” He’s fine. He is. They had it so much worse than he did and as soon as that thought enters his mind, his eyes dart down to Ace’s chest. To the scar there. To the wound that almost killed his brother. To the wound that he thought did kill his brother two years ago before he suddenly made an appearance shortly after reports of Luffy’s crew turning Sabaody upside-down surfaced. “I’m sorry,” he says without really thinking about it.

Luffy makes a questioning sound and Ace tilts his head to the side in confusion. Sabo finds himself reaching out and placing a hand against Ace’s chest, fingers skimming against the edge of the scar.

“I’m sorry,” he repeats, voice little more than a whisper, “I should have been there. I’m sorry.”

His brothers don’t say anything and his chest feels too tight, like his heart is about to burst. His eyes burn and there’s a painful lump forming in his throat. He’s about to cry again and he knows it, but he doesn’t want to. He shouldn’t be the one crying – he wasn’t the one suffering after all.

“Does it hurt?” he asks, eyes still on Ace’s chest as he tries to control the tremors he can feel fighting to break free.

To his surprise, he feels a hand on his left cheek and his eyes jerk up to meet Ace’s. The expression on his older brother’s face is contemplative, considering. He feels the Demon’s thumb brush over his cheek bone, just below his eye. Right over the scar that mars his own face.

“Does yours?” Ace asks softly.

Sabo tenses, desperately trying not to think about that day. About the explosion and the heat, all of the firefire _fire_ that blended so easily into pain _painpainpainPAIN **ithurtssoMUCHWHYARETHEYSHOOTINGATME –**_

“Sabo.”

He jerks, startled by Luffy’s voice in his ear. He feel’s Luffy pressed up against his back now, arms wrapped around him and knows that his little brother is standing on his tiptoes so he can hook his chin over Sabo’s shoulder because for all the growing he’s done, Sabo is still taller. Ace is still looking at him expectantly and he can’t stop the shudder that crawls down his spine anymore. It hurts to look at his brothers’ eyes.

“Sabo?” Luffy asks and this time he can hear the concern and the confusion.

Taking a shaky breath, he breaths out slowly. “Sometimes,” he whispers because anything else would be a lie.

Some days, he couldn’t care less. But on others, he can’t stand to look at himself. His skin feels tight and wrong and he feels like he doesn’t fit in his own body anymore.

“Can we see?” Ace asks.

Sabo blinks, startled by the sudden question, before nodding slowly. He moves to start unbuttoning his shirt only for Ace to grab his hands.

“Let us,” he says.

Luffy starts undoing the buttons on his shirt from behind while Ace tugs off his gloves, dropping them on the floor next to his forgotten hat. He doesn’t resist as his brothers first remove is coat, then his scarf, then his shirt. He keeps his eyes on the floor, waiting for the inevitable reaction when they see his skin. He hears Ace’s carefully controlled breathing and knows that he is trying not to react. He feels Luffy’s hand on his side and he doesn’t really know what Luffy is thinking; his younger brother has always been a mystery despite the fact that he is the most simplistic of the three of them.

He knows what he looks like. To be honest, he’s forgotten what it was like to have blemish free skin. He doesn’t exactly regret his scars, but he is far from proud of them.

“This was…” Ace trails off and Sabo only sees his harsh swallow because he’s looking at the Demon’s throat to avoid looking at his eyes, “This was from the explosion?”

Sabo takes a shuddering breath. “Most of it,” he admits, focusing on the way that Luffy’s fingers are tracing the scars that cover the majority of his right side, “There were two shots…” he chokes out not sure what exactly is causing his anxiety: the memories or his brothers’ reactions, “Some of it’s from the blast and shrapnel…and some of it’s from…”

“Fire,” Luffy mummers into his shoulder.

“Yeah,” he answers softly even though it’s not a question.

Hesitation flickers across Ace’s face before he glances over Sabo’s shoulder at Luffy. Sabo feels the Angel nod before he’s suddenly being pulled out of Luffy’s grip and Ace is dragging him over to the bed where they collapse in a heap of tangled limbs.

“Oof! Ace, what-?”

But Ace just shushes him and pulls him in tight against his chest. He feels Luffy tugging off his boots, hears them fall to the floor with a dull thud and then Luffy is their draping himself over both his older brothers. And Sabo is warm. So very, very warm. There is still a lot they need to talk about – a lot that they should talk about. But.

“Luffy, are you purring?” he asks.

Ace starts snickering even as Luffy denies everything.

But for now Sabo is content with just this. He smiles.


	10. Familiar

_The Angel never forgets, not truly. Sometimes it just takes a while to remember._

* * *

 

It takes Luffy a long time to figure it out.

He felt the spark that day at the Auction House, but it was quickly muffled and then forgotten in the wake of the chaos that followed. It’s not until after Punk Hazard that he recognizes the pull.

Law is of the Blood.

Luffy keeps quiet about it. After all, Law does not carry their name openly. He’s lost. The Angel’s fellow Captain is a quiet person, but Luffy can hear his heart screaming. It aches with loss and cries in loneliness. It’s familiar in way that keeps Luffy silent in contemplation as he stares out at the ocean.

Law is familiar because of the Blood but he is also familiar because of something else – something in the back of his mind recognizes the screaming in Law’s heart and the blankness in his eyes. It’s strange because Luffy knows that he’s never met Law before. At least, not as himself.

Perhaps, Ko or Belladona…?

It was possible.

The Divine were always attracted to those of the Blood or those who were as good as Blood. Robin is like that, Blood-but-not-Blood. She knows how to Listen and See. Maybe not as good as if she was of the Blood, but she understands it much better than most people.

Which is part of what confuses Luffy.

Because Law is of the Blood but he is Deaf and Blind.

Something that Luffy doesn’t know how to react to. Law doesn’t acknowledge the World, can’t Hear it Speak or See it Change. And that is worrisome.

Luffy doesn’t know what to do and he has never been good at sitting still.

But the Angel is patient where Luffy is not. The two halves of his being balance out to make a whole and so he watches and he waits and he slowly pulls Law into his own brand of madness that comes with being nakama.

* * *

_A white city ringed in fire and painted crimson._

_Screams echoing in the night as the sky burns._

_PainpainterrorpainhelpI’mscaredwhywhywhywhywhywhyjustchildrendidn’tdoanythingwrongit’ssafewhywhypainfearhelppleasesaveme –_

_A small child covered in ash and white, white skin struggling to breathe._

_Hush, hush child, don’t cry. I will teach you how to fly._

Luffy’s eyes fly open, silver and bright, a grin on his face.

He remembers.

* * *

“I need to find someone,” Luffy says without preamble as he drops onto the couch in the aquarium where Sabo and Robin are sitting, eyes glowing silver.

To their credit, neither one of them bats an eye. Robin just smiles calmly and Sabo sighs, already resigned.

“Who?” they ask in unison.

“Someone Belladona saved in the last few years of her life,” Luffy replies.

“Belladona?” Robin asks, eyebrow raised.

“The Angel’s last life,” Sabo clarifies absently before asking, “Last known location?”

“Samilion Isell, North Blue,” Luffy answers, short and to the point in a way he usually never is, “Little girl, auburn hair, about four or five at the time of my death. She’s Blood.”

Sabo’s eyebrows fly up to his hairline and Robin blinks.

“She’s a D?” the archeologist asks.

Luffy hums. “Yup,” he says, popping the p.

The pair across from him exchange a look.

“Alright,” they say.

* * *

Robin has always prided herself on being at least five steps ahead of everyone else. She’s learned, however, that it is impossible to be even a fraction of a step ahead of Luffy. Her captain is far too unpredictable for that. The best she can do is take most people’s reactions and expect the opposite. Where most people would run, Luffy charges forward. Where most people would abandon others to live another day, Luffy burns down the world to keep them.

No, Luffy is really the only person that has ever managed to consistently keep Robin on her toes. The only real predictable thing about Luffy is that he’s unpredictable. When faced with that and an unbending, determined will, it’s best just to roll with the punches.

So when Luffy wanders into the aquarium with the task to find a single individual in world full of billions, she agrees.

Information gathering is what she does, what she’s always done ( _Knowledge is power, Robin-chan._ ). Sabo is no slouch at it either and with the Revolutionary Army’s resources at their disposal, it’s a simple as giving a place and time.

Sabo’s knowledge is a surprise, but a pleasant one. She learns more than she would have on her own at least.

“The end of Belladona’s cycle, hmmm?” he hums thoughtfully during one of the lulls in their search while they wait to hear back from Koala, “In specific North Blue events that’d be around the time the White City fell…”

Robin tilts her head in consideration. “Flevance?”

Sabo looks over at her. “You know it?”

She gives a shallow shrug. “Only vaguely through reputation,” she answers, “The World Government had the island destroyed to prevent the spread of an incurable plague that had broken out. Though given the World Government’s history, I suspect there is more to the story.”

Sabo snorts. “Flevance’s prime export was a substance called Amber Lead. Extremely useful and valuable, but also highly toxic. The royal family and the World Government discovered the harmful properties of the substance,” he explains, handing Robin a report that she reads over, the details making her brow furrow, “But they kept the knowledge quiet so they could keep mining it. The civilians ended up suffering from Amber Lead Syndrome, a deadly but _not contagious_ condition. The World Government released false information that led people to fear the “white plague” so they received no help. They ended up destroying the island and slaughtering the citizens to cover up the whole fiasco.”

Robin hums, pushing the report away, lips thinned in displeasure. “What does it say that none of that surprises me?”

“That the world we live in is incredibly fucked up,” Sabo says bluntly.

Robin sighs, suddenly tired. Sabo eyes her sympathetically. This story hits too close to home for her. An entire island wiped out because of the World Government’s greed. “So we can assume that the girl is originally from Flevance?”

“It’s entirely possible,” Sabo replies, not commenting on her melancholy for which she’s grateful, “Belladona’s life was, for the most part, quiet. If I’m remembering correctly, Flevance was only a year or two before her death, so it fits in our time frame.”

Robin raises an eyebrow. “Luffy’s told you about his past incarnations?”

Sabo blinks at her. “Uh, no?” he shakes his head, brow furrowed, “I just sort of have a sense of these things, I guess. Luffy just has to say the name and I know exactly who he’s talking about. Works the same for Ace too.”

“Fascinating,” Robin says, lean forward slightly, “You are their Star correct? Do you remember past incarnations as well?”

Sabo’s face screws up in thought. “I don’t think it works that way for us,” he explains slowly, “Stars are meant to help tie the Divine to their humanity – like a back-up plan if they lose control of themselves. There’s usually a type of bond between a Star and their Divine; I’ve most often heard it described as platonic soulmates, which is pretty accurate in my experience, but it’s not always entirely correct,” he says with a shrug.

“So this bond is what allows for the passage of knowledge?” Robin asks, head tilted to the side in contemplation.

“As far as I can tell,” Sabo agrees, “I _know_ that certain things have happened because Ace or Luffy _remembered_ them, but I haven’t experienced them myself.”

“Interesting,” Robin murmurs, “I would love to learn more.”

Sabo gives her a wry smile. “I don’t really think this is the kind of thing you can break down into a science.”

Robin chuckles. “Well, no,” she agrees, “But that hasn’t stopped us before.”

Sabo grins back at her, but before he can say anything in response, the den den mushi goes off.

“Koala?” Sabo asks, picking up.

“ _Sabo_ ,” the woman on the other end greets, “ _I think I found what you’re looking for_.”

Robin picks up her pen and notebook and nods at Sabo.

“Go ahead,” he says.

“ _Samilion Isell is a pretty small island in general and they don’t receive a lot of outside traffic_ ,” Koala says, “ _So when new people show up, everyone notices. There is an orphanage on the island and since the population is so small, the numbers are pretty stable until about twenty-one years ago_.”

“Twenty-one years,” Sabo mutters, “Lu’s only nineteen. It fits. Any details Koala?”

“ _Not much_ ,” she replies, “ _It looks like the people actually went to lengths to hide information on her. One girl, about four years old, black eyes, auburn hair. Says here she was a very sickly child upon arrival, but she gradually recovered over the span of several months_.”

“Was she alone?” Robin asks.

“ _Mmmm, no_ ,” Koala replies over the sound of rustling papers, “ _She arrived in the middle of the night with an elderly woman –_ ”

Sabo jerks forward. “Do we have anything on the woman?” he asks quickly.

“ _Hold on, hold on! Sheesh_ ,” Koala gripes, “ _Be a little patient, will ya? There aren’t many specifics – like I said, it looks like someone went to some lengths to make sure this was kept quiet. But what I have does say that the woman died a few months after arrival, right around the time the girl started recovering. She was left in the custody of the orphanage after that_.”

Sabo looks contemplative. “Any chance we could get in contact with the orphanage?”

“ _Yeah. I found an address and a den den mushi number_.”

Sabo grins. “That should work. Thanks, Koala!”

“ _Yeah, yeah_.”

* * *

“She’s in New World.”

Luffy blinks up at his grinning brother and satisfied archeologist. “Huh?”

“The girl,” Robin clarifies, “We managed to track down the orphanage she stayed at after Belladona’s death.”

“Apparently, she wanted to travel,” Sabo continues, “She said she was looking for someone, but didn’t say who. She sends letters back to Kasa-san, the woman who looked after her, from time to time. The last few have come from Ruma.”

“Which is on our way to Zo,” Robin finishes.

Luffy grins.

“Oi, Nami!”

* * *

“It doesn’t look like she’s home,” Robin says.

It’s been ten minutes since Sabo knocked and still no one has answered the door.

“That’s fine,” Luffy says, dropping to sit on the porch.

The crew had taken Luffy’s sudden decision as well as they always did. That is to say, they just sighed and went along with it, having long resigned themselves to Luffy’s whims. Law, on the other hand, hadn’t taken it so well. He isn’t used to Luffy and the way he works, not entirely. He understands to an extent after Dressrosa, but one adventure with the Strawhats apparently isn’t enough. He gave in easily enough – though he wasn’t and still isn’t happy about it. Luffy doesn’t fault him for it. After all, his nakama are alone on Zo. Luffy would want to get back to them as soon as possible were he in Law’s position.

But this is important and he knows that Law will see that soon enough.

They just have to find her first.

Sabo and Robin settle on either side of Luffy to wait. The Angel can feel her, knows that she’s here on the island. The part of him that’s still Belladona wonders how much she’s grown, how much she’s changed since the last time they were together. He remembers her pain and her grief and her tears; he remembers her first smile after all of the tragedy.

Belladona loved that smile kept it close in her memories and safe in her heart. She cherished the little girl that she had saved from the fire and the death and the pain of the white city. Had she had more time, Belladona would have taken her in, showed her what it meant to be Blood. But her little girl had been dying and there hadn’t been anytime for that sort of thing. The Angel can heal, but Death is harder. She had lived a long life and a full one and this girl had barely begun. The choice was easy.

A Life for a Life.

Luffy remembers it as one of his easiest passings. But that doesn’t make him any less curious. So when the gate opens, and she steps through, he looks up with a beaming grin pulling at his lips.

She’s older now – no longer Belladona’s little girl, but a young woman – and stands a little bit taller than he does. She’s all long limbs and slender hips and narrow shoulders. She has her father’s sharp jawline and her mother’s nose. Dark eyes framed by darker lashes set in the face of an adult rather than a child, baby fat having melted away as the years passed. Her skin tone is even and much darker than the palepalewhitetoopale that Luffy remembers. Her auburn hair is pulled back loosely into a single tail, curls cascading down her back. Her expression is wary, her brow furrowed, as she takes in the three figures sitting on her porch, hands full of groceries.

“Hello? Is there something I can help you with…?” she asks slowly as Luffy stands.

As her walks towards her, he pulls up Belladona’s memories, her life, her love for this girl grown. He feels it singing in his veins as his wings surface and his eyes change.

Her eyes go impossibly wide and her bags fall from suddenly limp fingers, her voice breathless as she whispers, “…Bell-san?”

Luffy’s lips pull up into Belladona’s smile, soft and gentle. “Hello, Lami.”

Lami grins wide and happy before throwing herself at him with a shriek. “Bell-san!”

Luffy laughs and catches her around the waist, spinning her as she clutches at his shoulders, laughing and crying.

“I missed you so much, Bell-san,” she says.

Luffy sets her down, but pulls her closer with arms and wings, tilting his head so that his cheek rests against hers. “She missed you too.”

They stay like that for a long moment and Luffy feels Belladona settle in his chest. Her little girl is fine and not so little anymore. She can rest easy now. When Lami pulls back and smiles at him, he’s all Luffy again, but he loves her all the same.

“So who are you in this life?” she asks as she wipes at her eyes, shyly accepting the handkerchief that Sabo offers her with a small smile.

Luffy’s soft smile turns in a grin that’s all him. “I’m Monkey D. Luffy and I’m gonna be Pirate King! This is my brother, Sabo, and my nakama, Robin. They helped me find you.”

Lami grins at him wide and happy. “Trafalgar D. Water Lami at your service,” she says with a slight bow, giving her full name.

Luffy takes one look at the shock on his friends’ faces and bursts into gales of laughter. Lami just smiles at them, a teasing glint in her eyes. Robin and Sabo exchange a look, finally connecting the dots.

“Lami-san,” Sabo starts, a smile growing on his lips.

Robin finishes with a mischievous edge to her voice, “Would you like to visit our ship?”

* * *

Law looks out at the sea with a frown pulling at his lips. He’s not upset, not really. In fact, he’s more content with life than he has been in a very long time. A weight lifted from his chest after Dressrosa and he never realized he had forgotten how easy breathing was supposed to be. Cora-san is avenged and the Joker’s specter is no longer hanging over his shoulder. The battle was hard won, but Law considers every sacrifice worth it. Even joining with this strange, insane crew in an alliance. Monkey D. Luffy is both everything and nothing he expected – he’s simple at the best of times and stubborn at the worst, but somehow it works for him. Once he’s made up his mind, Luffy doesn’t stray. He charges forward with a single-minded determination that Law isn’t sure he loathes or respects.

He remembers, distantly, the stories his father would tell about those who carried D in their names. He was fond and exasperated and sad and solemn all at once. He had said that theirs was an old family, old and special. They were connected to each other and everything around them. They were life and death, chaos and order, two sides of the same coin. They kept balance and broke it. They were Blood. He hadn’t understood much of what he meant at the time. Cora-san had spoken of them as well. But where his father was all familiar and loving, Cora-san was reverent and wary. He spoke of great change, but never if that change would be good or bad.

After seeing Luffy in action, he can see why. The self-proclaimed future Pirate King does what he wants and damn the consequences. There is no consideration for laws or crimes, for good or bad. He forges his own path and forces the rest of the world to accommodate him. And if they don’t, well. Ennis Lobby and Marineford were good examples of what happened then, weren’t they?

Luffy is a pirate, so good and bad didn’t mean much of anything. But most used it as an excuse to get away with the bad. Luffy was neither. Law largely considers himself to be neutral as well. There is not right or wrong in his world – not morally speaking. He readily admits that he is an inherently selfish person. All of his actions up to this point have been selfish, a means to an end. Revenge for Cora-san, revenge for his family. Perhaps selfishness is their defining trait? Luffy is the only other D he’s met personally and from the numerous stories floating around about Roger, it isn’t much a stretch to conclude that he was the same.

Though in his opinion, Luffy takes everything to a whole other level. His selfishness knows no bounds and his crew seems long resigned to the fact that their captain will change course on a whim. Though he knows at this point that there isn’t much he can do to sway Luffy, the fact that they’ve altered their course frustrates him. His crew is alone. Has been for a while now. And while he is the one that separated them in the first place, the biggest reason for that separation has been dealt with. He had expected this to be something that his fellow captain would understand, but apparently he had been wrong.

When confronted about it, Luffy had just smiled at him and said, “Don’t worry. We’ll find your nakama. But this is important.”

And that was that.

Law sighs as he leans back against the railing. The other captain is utterly ridiculous with his whims but even he can admit that this one is a little different. When they had reached the port, there was no screaming for adventure, no excited hollering. Luffy had just taken Nico Robin and his brother and with a quick word to his first mate, departed. It’s nothing like the rubber man’s usual style and something about it irks Law. There’s some secret there, something that Luffy isn’t telling him. He knows though, that he won’t be finding anything out unless Luffy wants him too. The rubber man is simple, yes, but he is by no means stupid.

So there is little that is left for Law to do except wait. The cook, the navigator, and the doctor all went to town to gather supplies. The swordsman is sleeping on the upper deck, the skeleton in the library. The last two are probably tinkering with something down below, but none of that really interests him. The only real thing he can do is wait and even that is because he is too anxious to do anything else. If he’s honest with himself – and he likes to think he is – he was not planning to live through the confrontation with Doflamingo. He had made plans of course, but he was fully prepared to die. He almost did. So the fact that he has the opportunity, the _guarantee_ , that he will get to see his nakama again is making him impatient. So much so that he is incapable of distracting himself. 

“Torao!”

Law sighs and braces himself before he can even think about it – just in time for a lean body to collide with his.

“Mugiwara-ya,” he grumbles, shoving Luffy off him.

The other captain just laughs.

“Are you done here?” Law asks.

Luffy hums. “Well _I_ am. You’re probably not.”

Law frowns at him. “I don’t have any business here.”

“I met someone on the island,” Luffy says, ignoring him, “I think you’ll like her.”

Law sighs. He does not want to make new friends. That’s not what he’s here for. He needs to get back to his nakama. His thoughts crash to a complete halt when a woman steps out from behind Luffy. For a single, heartbreaking moment, he thinks it’s his mother. It’s been years since he’d seen her and he’s had no way to remember her other that his own memories. Pictures and anything else had burned along with his home.

The woman gives him a trembling, hopeful smile, dark eyes wet. “Hello, Law.”

And then his brain kicks in, trying to make since of what he’s seeing. She’s too young to be his mother and he’d seen her body. No, it’s not her, but she looks too much like her to not be related. His throat closes up when an impossible thought crosses his mind.

“…Lami?” he whispers, not even daring to hope.

She beams, a laugh that sounds more like a sob spilling out of her lips, tears streaming down her cheeks, and suddenly she’s thrown her arms around him. He’s clutching her in return, fingers gripping her shirt so tight, he’s surprised it doesn’t rip.

“How?” he asks.

Over her shoulder, Law sees Luffy’s eyes go silver as the younger captain smiles at him. His sister – his _sister_ – giggles and the story comes spilling out. A story about the night everything burned and white wings cutting through the darkness, a sacrifice that kept her alive and a dream of finding him after seeing his wanted poster.

“I missed you,” she whispers at the end.

Dimly, Law’s aware that they are now alone on the deck. He cradles Lami close ( _he’s never letting her go again_ ) and presses a kiss into her hair.

“I missed you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!


End file.
